HELPFUL 
VISIONS. 


THE  FOURTEENTH  BOOK   OF  THE 


FAITH-PROMOTING  SERIES. 


Designed    for    the    Instruction    and    Encouragement    of 
"Young     Latter-day    Saints. 


JUVENILE    INSTRUCTOR    OFFICE,, 

SALT   LAKE   CITY,  UTAH. 
1887- 


COMBINED 
FAITH-PROMOTING 

SERIES, 

Nos.  1-5,     -    -    -  $1.35, 

Nos.  6-10, $1.25. 


CONTENTS. 

A  TERRIBLE  ORDEAL. 
O  CHAPTER  I. 

Remarkable  Spiritual  Manifestations — Thrilling  Experi- 
ence of  Elder  David  P.  Kimball,  as  Narrated  by  him- 
„          self.  Page  9. 

CHAPTER  II. 

^*^ 

,    Account  of  Patten  Kimball  and  Others,  Regarding  the 

Search  for  and  Finding  of  his  Father.  Page  17. 

j  BRIANT  S.  STEVENS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Briant  Stringham  Stevens  Becomes  a  Missionary  to  His 
Associates  and  Brings  Four  Boys  to  Belief  and  Bap- 
tism— A  Good  Child  who  Passed  Amidst  the  Daily 
Temptations  of  Life  Unscathed.  Page  23. 

^  CHAPTER  II. 

J-  Accidents  to  Briant — He  is  Ordained  to  the  Priesthood — 
Patient  Endurance  of  His  Sufferings — He  is  Blessed 
to  be  an  Elder  and  then  Slumbers  in  Death.        Page  29. 
FINDING  COMFORT. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Called  to  Australasia — The  Modern  Imitators  of  Job's 
Friends— Our  "Special  Instruction"  is  to  uBuild  up 
the  Kingdom  of  God  in  those  Lands" — A  Disappoint- 
ment ends  in  a  Blessing — Promises  by  an  Apostle 
which  were  Literally  Fulfilled— We  Reach  Sydney, 
I  am  Separated  From  my  Companion.  Page  40. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Labor  which  Brought  Little  Compensation — A  Mysteri- 
ous Call  to  New  Zealand — Attacked  by  an  Evil  Spir- 
it— The  Visitation  Thrice  Repeated— Meeting  the 
Brother  of  a  Friend— On  Board  the  Wakatipu 
Bound  for  New  Zealand.  Page  48. 

CHAPTER  III. 

An  Irreverent  Company  of  Passengers — Sickness  and  a 
Horror  of  Life  Fall  Upon  Me— A  '  'Helpful  Vision" 
— "Only  be  Trus" — Invoking  the  Name  of  Christ — 
A  Jolly  Singer  and  a  Jolly  Song — Landing  at  Port 
Littleton— Strange  Recognition  of  Brother  Nord- 
strand — His  Dream  Concerning  Me.  Page  57. 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Reason  for  my  Sudden  Call  to  Leave  Sydney — The  Little 
Old  Lady  of  the  Wakatipu— She  had  Waited  a 
Generation  to  Renew  her  Covenants — Another  "Help- 
ful Vision" — A  Mysterious  Half-Sovereign — Saved 
from  Death  in  a  Swifc  River.  Page  65. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Some  Old  Members  of  the  Church— The  Spirit  Prompts 
Promises  to  Them  ^hich  are  Literally  Fulfilled — 
Help  from  a  Catholic  Who  is  Suddenly  Converted  and 
Who  as  Suddenly  Apostatizes— A  Spontaneous  Pro- 
phecy—The Journey  Home — A  Careful  Observer — 
Safe  in  Zion.  Page  74. 

TRAITORS. 

Solemn  Warnings — A  Traitor  can  Never  be  Anything  but 
Despicable— Examples  of  the  Past.  Page  82. 


PREFACE. 


THE  very  encouraging  reports  we  are  constantly  receiving 
from  various  parts  of  the  country  concerning  the  vast 
amount  of  good  accomplished  by  these  small  publications, 
induces  us  to  issue  the  fourteenth  book,  with  the  sincere  hope 
that  it  may  not  be  less  interesting  or  instructive  than  those 
which  have  preceded  it. 

The  Visions  here  recorded  will  again  prove  that  truth  is 
stranger  than  fiction,  and  we  trust  that  a  perusal  of  these  man- 
ifestations will  lead  our  young  people  to  seek  for  the  guidance 
of  the  Lord  in  all  things,  and  make  Him  their  constant  friend. 
The  article  on  traitors  is  very  appropriate  reading  matter  for 
the  present  season,  and  will,  it  is  hoped,  cause  everyone  to 
look  upon  the  men  of  this  class  with  the  contempt  they  so 
justly  merit,  and  sustain  everyone  in  shunning  as  they  would 
poison,  any  traitorous  act. 

Our  great  desire  is  that  this  little  book  may  assist  in  the 
education  and  elevation  of  the  young  people  and  others  who 
may  peruse  it. 

THE  PUBLISHERS. 


A  TERRIBLE   ORDEAL. 


BY   O.    F.  WHITNEY. 


CHAPTER  I. 


REMARKABLE  SPIRITUAL  MANIFESTATIONS—  THRILLING 
EXPERIENCE  OF  ELDER  DAVID  P.  KIMBALL,  AS  NAR- 
RATED BY  HIMSELF. 

'T^HE  following  narrative  of  the  experience  of  the  late  David 
•*•  Patten  Kimball,  who  was  lost  on  the  Salt  River  desert,  Ari- 
zona, in  the  latter  part  of  November,  1881,  is  taken  by  per- 
mission from  a  letter  written  by  him  to  his  sister,  Helen  Mar 
Whitney,  of  this  city,  on  the  8th  of  January,  1882.  Brother 
Kimball  was  then  a  resident  of  Jonesville,  or  Lehi,  three 
miles  from  Mesa,  where  the  letter  was  written.  The  events 
described  took  place  while  he  was  returning  home  from  a  trip 
to  Prescott,  the  capital  of  that  Territory. 

The  experience  related  was  of  so  remarkable  a  character  as 
to  meet  with  dubiety  on  the  part  of  some,  espjecially  those 
inclined  to  be  skeptical  regarding  spiritual  manifestations. 
Some  went  so  far  as  to  ascribe  the  sights  and  scenes  through 
which  the  narrator  claimed  to  have  passed,  to  the  fevered 
fancy  of  a  mind  disordered  by  strong  drink.  That  such  should 
have  been  supposed,  particularly  by  those  who  are  ignorant  of 
spiritual  things,  is  not  surprising,  when  it  is  remembered  that 
even  the  Apostles  of  Christ,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  were 


10  HELPFUL   VISIONS. 

accused  of  being  "drunken  with  new  wine,"  when  the  power 
of  the  Spirit  fell  upon  them  and  they  "spake  with  tongues 
and  prophesied." 

What  is  here  presented  is  the  plain  and  simple  testimony  of 
an  honest  man,  who  adhered  to  it  till  the  day  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  within  two  years  from  the  date  of  his  letter, 
and  was  in  literal  fulfillment  of  certain  things  which  he  said 
were  shown  him  in  vision,  and  of  which  he  frequently  testified 
while  living. 

For  the  benefit  of  such  as  may  not  have  known  Brother 
David  P.  Kimball,  we  will  state  that  he  was  the  fourth  son  of 
the  late  President  Heber  C.  Kimball,  whose  wonderful  encoun^ 
ter  with  evil  spirits,  on  the  opening  of  the  British  Mission  in 
]  837,  has  become  a  matter  of  Church  history.  Here  is  the 
excerpt  from  David's  letter: 

"On  the  4th  of  November,  I  took  a  very  severe  cold  in  a 
snow  storm  at  Prescott,  being  clad  in  light  clothing,  which 
brought  on  pneumonia  or  lung  fever.  I  resorted  to  Jamaica 
ginger  and  pepper  tea  to  obtain  relief  and  keep  up  my  strength 
till  I  could  reach  home  and  receive  proper  care.  On  the  13th 
I  camped  in  a  canyon  ten  miles  west  of  Prescott,  my  son  Pat- 
ten being  with  me.  We  had  a  team  of  eight  horses  and  two 
wagons.  That  night  I  suffered  more  than  death.  The  next 
night  we  camped  at  Mr.  Mclntyre's,  about  twenty  miles  far- 
ther on.  I  stopped,  there  two  nights  and  one  day,  during 
which  time  I  took  nothing  to  drink  but  pepper  tea.  On 
the  16th  we  drove  to  Black's  ranch,  twenty-eight  miles 
nearer  home,  and  were  very  comfortably  located  in  Mr.  Black's 
house. 

"About  11  p.  m,,  I  awoke  and  to  my  surprise  saw  some  six 
or  eight  men  standing  around  my  bed.  I  had  no  dread  of 
them  but  felt  that  they  were  my  Iriends.  At  the  same  time 
I  heard  a  voice  which  seemed  to  come  from  an  eight  square 
(octagon)  clock  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  house.  It  com- 
menced talking  and  blackguarding,  which  drew  my  attention, 
when  I  was  told  to  pay  no  attention  to  it.  At  this  point  I 
heard  the  most  beautiful  singing  I  ever  listened  to  in  all  my 
life.  These  were  the  words,  repeated  three  times  by  a  choir: 


A  TERRIBLE  ORDEAL.  11 

'G-od  bless  Brother  David  Kimball.'  I  at  once  distinguished 
among  them  the  voice  of  my  second  wife,  Julia  Merrill,  who 
in  life  was  a  good  singer.  This,  of  course,  astonished  me. 
Just  then  my  father  commenced  talking  to  me,  the  voice 
seeming  to  come  from  a  long  distance.  He  commenced  by 
telling  me  of  his  associations  with  President  Young,  the 
Prophet  Joseph,  and  others  in  the  spirit  world,  then  enquired 
about  his  children,  and  seemed  to  regret  that  his  family  were 
so  scattered,  and  said  'there  would  be  a  great  reformation  in 
his  family  inside  of  two  years.  He  also  told  me  where  I 
should  live,  also  yourself  and  others,  and  a  great  many  other 
things.  I  conversed  freely  with  father,  and  my  words  were 
repeated  three  times  by  as  many  different  persons,  exactly  as  I 
spoke  them,  until  they  reached  him,  and  then  his  words  to 
me  were  handed  down  in  a  like  manner^JteSsi^^^* 

"After  all  this  I  gave  way  to  doubt,  thinking  it  might  be 
only  a  dream,  and  to  convince  myself  that  I  was  awake,  I  got, 
up  and  walked  out-doors  into  the  open  air.  /^*«  *  *"' 

fjjl  returned  and  still  the  spirit  of  doubt  was  upon 
me.  To  test  it  further  I  asked  my  wife  Julia  to  sing  me  a 
verse  of  one  of  her  old  songs.  At  that,  the  choir,  which 
had  continued  singing,  stopped  and  she  sang  the  song  through, 
every  word  being  distinct  and  beautiful.  The  name  of  the 
song  was,  'Does  He  Ever  Think  of  Me. ' 

uMy  eyes  were  now  turned  toward  the  south,  and  there,  as 
in  a  large  parquette,  I  beheld  hundreds,  even  thousands,  of 
friends  and  relatives.  •  I  was  then  given  the  privilege  of  asking 
questions  and  did  so.  This  lasted  for  some  time,  after  which 
the  singing  commenced  again,  directly  above  me.  I  ^ow 
wrapped  myself  in  a  pair  of  blankets  and  went  out-doors 
determined  to  see  the  singers,  but  could  see  nothing,  though 
I  could  hear  the  voices  just  the  same.  I  returned  to  my  couch 
and  the  singing,  which  was  all  communicative  and  instructive, 
continued  until  the  day  dawned.  All  this  time  the  clock  I 
have  mentioned  continued  its  cursing  and  blackguarding. 

"Mr.  and  Mrs.  Black  were  up  in  due  time  and  got  break- 
fast. I  arose  and  made  my  toilet,  plain  as  it  was,  and  took 
breakfast  with  my  host  and  hostess.  When  my  boy  got  ready 


12  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

to  start,  I  went  to  pay  my  bill,  and  to  my  surprise  heard  a 
voice  say  or  communicate:  'David  Kimball  has  paid  his 
bill.'  When  I  got  into  the  wagon,  my  guards,  or  those  who 
were  around  my  bed  during  the  night,  were  still  with  me. 
My  father  had  told  me  that  he  and  President  Young  and  oth- 
ers would  visit  me  the  next  night. 

"We  drove  on  until  about  11  a.  m.,  when  a  host  of  evil 
spirits  made  their  appearance.  They  were  determined  to  des- 
troy me,  but  I  had  power  of  mind  to  pay  no  attention  to  them, 
and  let  them  curse  all  day  without  heeding  them  any  more 
than  possible.  Five  times  they  made  a  rush  en  masse  to  come 
into  the  wagon,  the  last  one,  where  I  was,  but  were  kept  off 
by  my  friends  (spiritual).  About  2  p.  m.  1  told  my  boy  to 
stop  and  we  would  water  our  horses.  We  used  for  this  pur- 
pose barrels  that  we  had  along  with  us.  After  this  I  walked 
to  the  west  side  of  my  wagons,  and  looking  to  the  east,  I  saw 
and  heard  the  evil  spirits  floating  in  the  air  and  chanting 
curses  upon  Brigham  Young.  I  saw  two  other  groups  of  the 
same  kind,  but  did  not  hear  them.  Then  I  looked  to  the 
south  and  the  whole  atmosphere  was  crowded  with  fallen  spir- 
its, or  those  who  had  not  obtained  bodies.  Others  who  tried 
to  torment  me  were  spirits  who  had  lived  upon  the  earth. 
Having  seen  so  many  and  being  complimented  by  my  guard  for 
seeing  so  well,  I  became  a  little  timid  and  asked  my  spiritual 
friends  if  they  had  any  help.  The  answer  was,  'Yes,  plenty.' 
I  now  told  my  boy  to  drive  on— he  was  entirely  oblivious  of 
all  that  was  taking  place  with  me — and.  scon  after  I  was  so 
exhausted  that  I  fell  into  a  troubled  sleep  and  must  have  slept 
quite  a  little  while. 

"After  I  awoke  I  seemed  to  be  left  alone,  and  was  lying  on 
my  back,  when,  all  at  once,  I  saw  an  old  man  and  two  young 
girls.  This  vision  coming  on  me  so  suddenly,  I  was  startled, 
and  finding  my  guard  gone,  I  jumped  out  of  the  wagon  and  got 
up  on  the  spring  seat  beside  my  boy.  But  I  could  not  get 
away  from  them.  I  was  told  in  a  coarse,  gruff  voice  that  the 
devil  was  going  to  kill  me,  and  that  he  would  follow  me  night 
and  day  until  he  destroyed  me.  I  remembered  the  promise 
father  had  made  me  the  night  before — that  he  intended  to 


A  TERRIBLE  ORDEAL.  13 

visit  me  the  next  evening — and  I  nerved  up  and  tried  to  pay 
no  attention  to  my  persecutors,  but  I  must  confess  I  was 
frightened. 

uWe  arrived  at  Wickenburg  jusfc  at  sundown.  The  old  man 
and  the  girls  were  tormenting  and  tantalizing  me  all  the  way, 
but  never  coming  very  near  to  me.  We  got  supper  and  I  took 
a  room  at  People's  hotel  and  retired  about  10  p.  m.  When 
everything  was  quiet  my  spirit  friends,  eight  in  number, 
returned  and  my  tormentors  were  required  to  leave.  Soon 
after,  a  glofious  vision  burst  upon  me.  There  were  thousands 
of  the  Saints  presented  to  me,  many  who  had  died  at  Nauvoo, 
in  Winter  Quarters,  on  the  plains  and  in  Utah. 

"I  saw  Brother  Pugmire  and  many  others  whom  I  did  not 
know  were  dead.  When  my  mother  came  to  me  it  was  so  real 
and  1  was  so  overjoyed  that  I  exclaimed  aloud.  So  powerful 
was  this  vision  that  I  asked  President  Young,  who  seemed  to 
be  directing  matters,  three  times  to  relieve  me,  or  I  would 
faint.  A  great  many  others  passed  in  regular  order;  and  I 
recognized  nearly  all  of  them,  and  was  told  the  names  of  all  I 
did  not  know.  My  father  sat  in  a  chair  with  his  legs  crossed 
and  his  hands  clasped  together,  as  we  have  often  seen  him. 
Those  who  passed  along  had  hidden  him  from  my  view  till 
then, 

"This  scene  vanished,  and  I  was  then  taken  in  the  vision 
into  avast  building,  which  was  built  on  the  plan  of  the  Order  of 
Zion.  I  entered  through  a  south  door  and  found  myself  in  a 
part  of  the  building  which  was  unfinished,  though  a  great 
many  workmen  were  busy  upon  it.  My  guide  showed  me  all 
through  this  half  of  the  house,  and  then  took  me  through  the 
other  half,  which  was  finished.  The  richness,  grandeur  and 
beauty  of  it  defied  description.  There  were  many  apartments 
in  the  house,  which  was  very  spacious,  and  they  differed  in 
size  and  the  fineness  of  the  workmanship,  according  to  the 
merits  on  earth  of  those  who  were  to  occupy  them.  I  felt 
most  at  home  in  the  unfinished  part,  among  the  workmen. 
The  upper  part  of  the  house  was  filled  with  Saints,  but  I  could 
not  see  them,  though  some  of  them  conversed  with  me,  my 
father  and  mother,  Uncle  Joseph  Young  and  others. 


14  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

"My  father  told  me  many  things,  and  I  received  many 
reproofs  for  my  wrong-doings.  Yet  he  was  loth  to  have  me 
leave,  and  seemed  to  feel  very  badly  when  the  time  came  for  me 
to  go.  He  told  me  I  could  remain  there  if  I  chose  to  do  so, 
but  I  p!ead  with  him  that  I  might  stay  with  my  family  long 
enough  to  make  them  comfortable,  to  repent  of  my  sias,  and 
more  fully  prepare  myself  for  the  change.  Had  it  not  been 
for  this,  I  never  should  have  returned  home,  except  as  a 
corpse.  Father  finally  told  me  I  could  remain  two  years,  and 
to  do  all  the  good  I  coulft  during  that  time,  after  which  he 
would  come  for  me;  he  mentioned  four  others  that  he  would 
come  for  also,  though  he  did  not  say  it  would  be  at  the  same 
time. 

"On  the  18th  of  November,  about  noon,  we  left  Wicken- 
burg  (which  is  twenty-two  miles  from  Black's  Ranch  where 
we  stopped  the  previous  night)  on  our  journey  home.  I  was 
exhausted  from  what  I  had  experienced,  and  could  feel  my 
mind  fast  giving  away,  but  I  had  confidence  that  I  would 
reach  home  alive.  There  were  n  3  Elders  to  administer  to  me 
and  no  kind  friends  to  look  after  my  wants  except  my  son,  who 
had  all  he  could  do  in  looking  after  eight  horses  and  two  wag- 
ons. As  my  mind  wandered  and  grew  weaker,  I  was  troubled 
and  led  by  influences  over  which  I  had  no  power,  and  my 
friends,  the  good  spirits,  had  all  left  me. 

"We  drove  about  twenty  miles  that  afternoon,  camping 
about  eight  miles  from  water,  on  the  Salt  River  desert,  which 
is  about  fifty  miles  across.  Daring  the  fore  part  of  the  n;ght 
I  heard  the  horses  running  as  though  they  were  frightened. 
My  son  was  asleep,  but  I  got  up  and  put  my  overcoat  across 
my  shoulders  and  went  out,  where  they  were  and  got  them 
quieted  down.  I  was  about  to  return  to  the  wagon,  when 
that  same  old  man  with  gray  whiskers,  who  had  tormented  me 
before,  stepped  between  me  and  the  wagons.  He  had  a  long 
knife  in  his  hand.  I  was  frightened  and  fled,  he  pursuing  me 
and  telling  me  he  was  going  to  kill  me.  What  I  passed  through 
1  cannot  describe,  and  no  mortal  tongue  could  tell.  I  wan- 
dered two  days  and  three  nights  in  the  Salt  River  desert, 
undergoing  the  torments  of  the  damned,  most  of  the  time, 
which  was  beyond  anything  that  mortal  could  imagine. 


A  TERRIBLE  ORDEAL.  15 

"When  my  mind  was  restored,  and  the  fever  which  had 
raged  within  me  had  abated,  I  found  myself  lying  on  a  bleak 
hill-top,  lost  in  the  desert,  chilled,  hungered,  thirsty  and  fee- 
ble. I  had  scarcely  any  clothing  on,  was  barefooted,  and  my 
body  full  of  cactus  from  head  to  foot.  My  hands  were  a 
perfect  mat  of  thorns  and  briars.  Thi«,  with  the  knowledge 
that  no  one  was  near  me,  made  me  realize  the  awful  condition 
I  was  in.  I  could  not  walk.  I  thought  I  would  take  my  life, 
but  had  no  knife  or  any  thing  to  do  it  with.  I  tried  to  cut  an 
artery  in  my  arm  with  a  sharp  rock  I  had  picked  up,  hop- 
ing I  might  bleed  to  death,  but  even  this  was  denied  me.  The 
wolves  and  ravens  were  hovering  around  me,  anxiously  await- 
ing my  death.  I  had  a  long  stick  and  I  thought  I  would  dig  a 
deep  hole  and  cover  myself  up  the  best  I  could,  so  the  wolves 
would  not  devour  my  body  until  I  could  be  found  by  my 
friends. 

"On  the  night  of  the  21st,  I  could  see  a  fire  about  twenty- 
five  miles  to  the  south,  and  felt  satisfied  that  it  was  my  friends 
coming  after  me.  I  knew  the  country  where  I  was;  I  was 
about  eight  miles  from  houses  where  I  could  have  got  plenty 
of  water  and  something  to  eat,  but  my  strength  was  gone  and 
my  feet  were  so  sore  I  could  not  stand  up.  Another  long  and 
dreary  day  passed,  but  I  could  see  nothing  but  wolves  and 
ravens  and  a  barren  desert  covered  with  cactus,  and  had  about 
made  up  my  mind  that  the  promise  of  two  years  life,  made  by 
my  father,  was  not  to  be  realized.  While  in  this  terrible 
plight,  and  when  I  had  just  about  given  up  all  hope,  my  father 
and  mother  appeared  to  me  and  gave  me  a  drink  of  water  and 
comforted  me^  telling  me  I  would  be  found  by  my  friends  who 
were  out  searching  for  me,  and  that  I  should  live  two  years 
longer  as  I  had  been  promised.  When  night  came  I  saw 
another  fire  a  few  hundred  yards  from  me  and  could  see  my 
friends  around  it,  but  I  was  so  hoarse  I  could  not  make  them 
hear.  By  this  time  my  body  was  almost  lifeless  and  I  could 
hardly  move,  but  my  mind  was  in  a  perfect  condition  and  I 
could  realize  everything  that  happened  around  me. 

"On  the  morning  of  the  23rd,  at  daylight,  here  they  came, 
about  twenty  in  all,  two  of  my  own  sons,  my  nephew  William, 


16  HELPFUL   VISIONS. 

Bishop  E.  Pomeroy,  John  Lewis,  John  Blackburn,  Wiley 
Jones  and  others,  all  friends  and  relatives  from  the  Mesa,  who 
had  tracked  me  between  seventy-five  and  one  hundred  miles. 
I  shook  hands  with  them,  and  they  were  all  overjoyed  to  see 
me  alive,  although  in  such  a  pitiable  plight.  My  own  feelings 
1  shall  not  undertake  to  describe.  I  told  them  to  be  very 
careful  how  they  let  me  have  water,  at  first.  They  rolled  me 
up  in  some  blankets  and  put  me  on  a  buck-board  and  appointed 
John  Lewis  to  look  after  me  as  doctor  and  nurse.  After  I  had 
taken  a  few  swallows  of  water,  I  was  almost  frantic  for  more, 
but  they  wisely  refused  to  let  me  have  it  except  in  small  doses 
every  half  hour. 

"I  had  about  seventy-five  miles  to  ride  home.  We  arrived 
at  my  place  in  Jonesville  on  the  afternoon  of  the  iMth  of  Nov- 
ember, when  my  wife  and  family  took  charge  of  me  and  I  was 
tenderly  and  carefully  nourished.  In  a  few  days  I  was  around 
again.  I  told  my  experience  to  President  McDonald,  Bishop 
Pomeroy,  C.  I.  Kobson  and  others,  and  most  of  them  believed 
me,  but  my  word  was  doubted  by  some.  The  report  had  gone 
out  that  I  had  been  drinking  and  was  under  the  influence  of 
liquor.  This  was  an  utterly  false  report.  I  told  them  I  had 
just  two  years  to  live,  so  they  could  tell  whether  it  was  a  true 
manifestation  or  not. 

4 'Now,  Sister  Helen,  during  the  last  twelve  years  I 
have  had  doubts  about  the  truth  of  'Mormonism,'  because  I 
did  not  take  a  course  to  keep  my  testimony  alive  within  me. 
And  the  letter  I  wrote  you  last  August,  I  suppose  caused  you 
to  feel  sorrowful,  and  you  prayed  for  me  and  God  heard  your 
prayers.  And  our  father  and  mother  plead  with  the  Lord  in 
my  behalf,  to  whom  I  will  give  the  credit  of  this  terrible  but 
useful  ordeal  through  which  I  have  passed  and  only  in  part 
described,  an  ordeal  which  bat  few  men  have  ever  been  able 
to  endure  and  relate  what  I  have  seen  and  heard. 

"Now,  my  dear  sister,  you  have  a  little  of  your  brother 
David's  experience,  and  let  who  will  think  that  I  had  been 
drinking.  I  know  these  things  were  shown  to  me  for  my  own 
good,  and  it  was  no  dream  but  a  glorious  and  a\*  fill  reality. 
My  story  is  believed  by  my  brethren  who  have  respect  for  me. 


A  TERRIBLE  ORDEAL.  17 

I  will  console  myself  with  the  knowledge  I  have  obtained. 
Let  the  world  wag  on,  and  let  hell  and  the  devil  keep  up  their 
warfare  against  the  Saints  of  God.  I  know  for  myself  that 
'•Morrnonism"  is  true.  With  God's  help,  while  I  live,  I  shall 
strive  to  do  good,  and  I  will  see  you  before  long  and  tell  you 
all,  as  it  never  will  be  blotted  out  of  my  memory. 

"With  kind  regards,  in  which  my  wife  and  children  join,  I 
remain,  as  ever, 

Your  Affectionate  Brother, 

David  P.  Kimball." 


CHAPTER    It. 


ACCOUNT   OF   PATTEN  KIMBALL  AND  CHIEFS,  REGARDING 
THE  SEARCH  FOR  AND  FINDING  OF  ins  FATHER. 

^PilE  following  account  is  furnished  by  Elder  Solomon  F. 
«*•    Kimball,  brother  of  David  P.  Kimball,  who  was  in  Mesa 
at  the  time  of  the  occurrence  described  and  thoroughly  convers- 
ant with  the  facts: 

On  the  morning  of  November  19th  when  Patten  arose  and 
missed  his  father  he  thought  probably  he  had  gone  out  to  hunt 
for  the  horses,  and  felt  no  uneasiness  concerning  him.  He  made 
a  fire,  prepared  breakfast  and  waited  some  time,  but  could  not 
see  or  hear  him  anywhere.  The  horses  came  strolling  into 
camp  and  were  tied  up,  fed  and  watered.  Patten  then  ate  his 
meal  and  saddled  a  horse  and  rode  back  towards  Wickenburg, 
until  he  came  to  a  small  place  called  Seymour  on  the  Hassay- 
ampa  but  could  find  out  nothing  of  his  father's  whereabouts. 
He  went  back  to  the  wagon  and  hunted  the  country  close 
around  camp  but  found  nothing  but  his  father's  overcoat, 
which  was  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  wagon.  It  being  an 
old  camp-ground,  it  was  impossible  to  find  his  tracks.  He 
finally  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  had  gone  towards  home, 


18  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

so  he  hitched  up  his  team  and  drove  homeward  until  he  came 
to  Mr.  Calder woods  at  Agua  Fria.  (Cold  Water).  At  this 
place  there  was  a  well  dug  on  the  desert  about  twenty  miles 
from  Salt  River.  Patten  had  traveled  about  twenty-two  miles 
before  reaching  this  point,  but  was  disappointed  in  not  hearing 
anything  of  his  father.  He  had  traveled  all  night  and  Mr. 
Calderwood  was  up  and  around  vyhen  he  arrived.  He  related 
his  story  to  him  and  was  advised  by  him  to  leave  his  team 
there  and  take  the  best  pair  of  horses,  and  hitch  them  to  his 
buck -board  and  go  on  to  the  Mesa.  Here  he  could  get  help 
to  come  and  hunt  for  the  missing  man.  The  distance  was 
forty  miles,  which  would  take  all  the  rest  of  the  day  (the  20th). 
He  acted  on  the  advice,  however,  and  arrived  at  his  destina- 
tion at  9  p.  m.  The  news  was  circulated,  and  in  less  than 
two  hours,  twenty  of  the  best  and  most  experienced  men  at 
Mesa  and  Jonesville  were  on  (he  road,  taking  Patten  back  with 
them.  They  also  took  a  wagon  to  carry  water  and  provisions, 
but  most  of  them  were  on  the  best  of  horses.  They  had  sixty 
miles  to  ride,  before  beginning  the  search,  which  was  accom- 
plished by  daylight  next  morning.  After  feeding  their  horses 
and  eating  a  lunch  they  held  a  consultation  and  agreed  to  abide 
by  the  following  rule.  If  any  one  of  the  party  found  his 
tracks  he  was  to  make  a  smoke  and  this  would  call  the  others 
in  that  direction.  They  then  started  out  in  different  directions. 
They  scoured  the  country  until  about  noon,  when  Sern  Sorn- 
son  and  Charles  Rogers  found  his  tracks.  They  supposed 
they  were  about  twelve  miles  from  where  he  was  lost,  and  about 
ten  miles  from  Agua  Fria,  close  to  the  main  road  on  the  south 
side.  They  soon  gathered  some  brush  and  started  a  fire,  put- 
ting on  plenty  of  green  weeds,  etc.,  to  cause  a  smoke,  and  soon 
attracted  the  attention  of  their  comrades.  His  tracks  were 
followed.  They  wound  round  and  round,  going  in  no  partic- 
ular direction.  Some  places  he  would  cross  his  tracks  eight 
or  ten  times  in  going  one  hundred  yards,  which  made  it  quite 
difficult  to  follow. 

After  spending  a  part  of  the  afternoon  trailing  him  up,  the 
tracks  finally  took  a  direct  course  leading  to  the  north.  By 
this  time  all  the  searching  party  were  together. 


A  TERRIBLE  ORDEAL.  19 

Another  meeting  was  hell  and  the  plan  adopted  was  for 
eight  horsemen,  four  on  each  side  of  his  tracks,  to  ride  at  a 
considerable  distance  apart,  so  as  to  cut  off  the  track  if  it 
turned  to  the  right  or  left,  and  two  or  three  of  the  best  trail- 
ers to  keep  on  the  tracks,  while  the  buck-board  and  wagon 
followed  up.  These  were  out  of  sight  most  of  the  time,  ys  very 
good  time  was  made  by  the  trailers  after  this  plan  was  adopted. 
The  ground  was  qui^e  soft,  and  those  on  the  trail  would  gallop 
their  horses  for  miles,  but  darkness  soon  put  an  end  to  their 
work  for  this  day,  a  good  thing  for  both  men  and  animals. 

They  had  traveled  upwards  of  one  hundred  miles  in  about 
twenty  hours.  They  were  working  men  and  had  plenty  of 
strength  to  carry  them  through  under  all  circumstances.  They 
camped  on  the  highest  ground  that  could  be  found  close  by, 
and  made  a  large  fire  which  was  kept  up  all  night  by  those  on 
guard. 

As  soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to  see  the  tracks,  every  man 
was  at  his  place  moving  as  fast  as  he  cou'd  under  the  circum- 
stances. 

This  was  the  morning  of  the  22nd.  One  great  drawback 
they  met  with  that  day  was  that  when  they  would  come  to  a 
deep  ravine  where  water  had  run  during  rainy  weather,  the 
tracks  would  follow  up  sometimes  for  miles  and  then  continue 
in  the  former  direction.  Places  would  frequently  be  found  in 
the  sand  where  the  lost  one  had  dug  down  for  water  with  his 
hands.  Now  and  then  they  would  find  a  piece  of  his  clothing 
and  see  places  where  he  had  run  into  the  fox-tail  cactus,  cat's- 
claw  and  other  thorny  bushes.  One  place  was  found  where 
he  had  broken  off  the  limb  of  a  tree  for  a  walking  stick.  The 
party  followed  his  tracks  all  day  without  stopping,  only  as  th"y 
were  obliged  to,  on  account  of  losing  the  trail  or  from  some 
other  cause. 

Darkness  overtook  them  again,  b'lt  nothing  could  be  heard 
or  seen  of  the  missing  man.  They  slept  on  his  tracks,  keep- 
ing up  a  fire  all  night  as  before.  His  sons  and  others  could 
not  rest,  and  followed  his  tracks  after  dark  by  striking  matches 
and  putting  them  close  to  the  ground  to  see  if  they  might 
possibly  find  Liin.  Some  thought  they  could  hear  a  sound 


20  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

but  it  was  so  indistinct  they  could  not  discern  the  direction 
from  which  it  came.  It  was  indeed  he  who  called,  for  they 
were  then  only  a  few  hundred  yards  from  him,  but  he  was  too 
hoarse  to  make  them  hear.  On  the  morning  of  the  23rd  at 
daylight  his  anxious  friends  were  on  his  tracks,  and  had  gone 
but  a  short  distance  when  Charles  Peterson  saw  him.  He  had 
a  long  staff  in  his  hand,  and  had  raised  up  as  high  as  he  could 
get,  being  on  one  knee  and  the  other  foot  on  the  ground,  and 
was  stretching  himself  as  far  as  he  could  and  looking  eagerJy 
for  their  arrival.  The  crowd  made  a  rush,  and  in  a  few  seconds 
were  with  him,  Bishop  E.  Pomeroy  being  the  first.  He  was 
in  his  right  mind  and  knew  all  present,  and  was  glad  to  shake 
them  by  the  hand,  calling  each  by  name.  He  was  in  good 
spirits  and  joked  the  boys  frequently  and  gave  them  instruct- 
ions to  be  careful  in  giving  him  water,  etc.  There  was  no 
water  except  in  a  canteen  that  had  been  reserved  for  his  espe- 
cial use.  The  company  suffered  themselves  for  want  of  water. 
They  had  traveled  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in 
le5S  than  forty-eight  hours. 

David  had  dug  a  deep  hole  with  his  stick  and  had  used  his 
hands  to  move  the  di.t.  He  said  he  was  digging  his  own 
grave.  He  was  rolled  in  blankets  and  put  on  the  buck-board. 
All  drove  to  the  nearest  houses,  seven  or  eight  miles  distant, 
on  the  Hassayampa,  where  all  refreshed  themselves  with  water 
and  something  to  eat.  Soon  they  were  on  the  road  home- 
ward. They  drove  to  Mr.  Calderwood's,  which  was  about 
thirty  miles,  and  stayed  all  night.  He  was  very  kind  to  all 
and  told  them  to  help  themselves  to  any  thing  he  had,  such  as 
hay,  grain  and  food.  He  acted  the  gentleman  in  every  respect. 
A  large  number  of  men  had  also  left  Phoenix  in  searcli  of 
David,  among  them  being  the  U.  S.  Marshal,  and  others. 
Men  and  Indians  were  riding  over  the  desert  in  every  direction. 
Next  morning  the  company  drove  to  Jonesville,  forty  miles 
distant,  where  they  arrived  about  3  p.  m. 

David  was  carried  into  his  house  where  he  was  surrounded 
by  his  loving  wife  and  children. 

When  he  recounted  his  experience,  he  said  that  one  thing 
that  kept  him  from  choking  to  death  for  want  of  water, 


\ 

A  TERRIBLE  ORDEAL.  21 

was  the  damp  pebbles  which  he  dug  from  low  ravines  and 
held  them  in  his  mouth.  The  Indians  said  that  no  human 
being  could  walk  as  far  as  he  did,  go  without  water  and  live 
four  days  and  five  nights.  The  party  that  found  him  said  he 
must  have  walked  at  least  seventy-five  miles,  some  said  one 
hundred. 

He  testified  that  on  the  afternoon  of  the  22 od,  his-  father 
and  mother  came  and  gave  him  water  and  told  him  that  his 
friends  would  find  him.  His  clothing  was  all  gone  except  his 
under  garments,  which  were  badly  torn. 

Before  leaving  home  on  his  trip  to  Prescott,  David  had 
worked  several  days  fixing  up  his  books  and  accounts,  and 
burning  up  all  useless  papers,  after  which  he  told  his  wife  that 
he  felt  different  in  starting  on  this  trip  from  anything  he  had 
ever  felt  before.  He  said  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  should 
never  return.  He  told  her  that  if  this  proved  to  be  the  case, 
he  had  fixed  his  business  up  in  such  a  shape  that  she  would 
have  no  trouble,  and  would  know  as  much  about  it  as  himself. 
She  frequently  spoke  of  these  curious  remarks,  and  felt  con- 
siderably worried.  When  the  news  came  that  he  was  lost,  all 
was  plain  to  her,  and  she  never  expected  to  see  him  come 
home  alive.  Nothing  could  comfort  her  and  she  watched 
night  and  day  until  he  was  brought  home. 


IN  the  Fall  of  1883,  Elder  David  P.  Kimball  paid  a  visit  to 
Salt  Lake  City,  to  see  his  sister  Helen  and  others,  to  whom 
he  confirmed  by  his  own  lips  all  that  his  letter  contained,  and 
told  some  other  things  in  relation  to  his  marvelous  experience. 
He  declared  solemnly  to  her  that  he  was  perfectly  sober  when 
he  passed  through  the  trying  ordeal  related,  and  bore  a  pow- 
erful testimony  to  the  truth  of  "Mormonism."  He  seemed  a 
little  reticent  to  most  of  his  relatives,  aud  talked  but  little  of 
his  strange  experience,  feeling  pained  that  so  many  seemed  to 
doubt  his  word,  and  being  unwilling  to  make  himself  obtru- 
sive. When  he  bade  his  friends  farewell,  there  was  something 
about  him  which  seemed  to  say  that  he  was  taking  leave  of 
them  for  all  time.  This  visit  was  no  doubt  made  with  that 
prospect,  for  it  was  almost  two  years  from  the  time  he  was 


22  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

lost  on  the  desert.  He  returned  home  to  St.  David,  Cochise 
County,  Arizona,  and  almost  the  next  news  that  came  from 
there  was  the  tidings  of  his  death. 

A  letter  from  his  nephew,  Charles  S.  Whitney,  who  was 
then  living  with  him,  written  home  on  the  22nd  of  November, 
1883,  contained  this: 

"Uncle  David  died  this  morning  at  half- past  six,  easily,  and 
apparently  without  a  bit  of  pain.  Shortly  before  he  died,  he 
looked  up  and  called,  'Father,  father ! '  All  night  long  he 
had  called  for  Uncle  Heber.  You  remember  hearing  him  tell 
how  grand-pa  came  to  him  when  he  was  lost  on  the  desert, 
and  how  he  plead  for  two  more  years  and  was  given  that  much 
longer  to  stay.  Last  Saturday,  the  day  he  was  so  bad,  was 
just  two  years  from  the  day  he  was  lost,  and  to-day  is  just  two 
years  from  the  day  his  father  and  mother  came  to  him  and 
gave  him  a  drink  of  water,  and  told  him  that  his  friends 
would  find  him  and  he  should  live  two  years  longer.  He  knew 
that  he  was  going  to  die,  and  bade  Aunt  Caroline  good-by  day 
before  j-esterday. ' ' 


BRIANT  S.   STEVENS. 


A    Little    Savior    in  the   Midst    of   His 
Young    Companions. 

BY   KENNON. 


CHAPTER    I. 

BRIANT  STRINGAM  STEVENS  BECOMES  A  MISSIONARY  TO  His 
ASSOCIATES  AND  BRINGS  FOUR  BOYS  TO  BELIEF  AND 
BAPTISM—  A  GOOD  CHILD  WHO  PASSED  AMIDST  THE 
DAILY  TEMPTATIONS  OF  LIFE  UNSCATHED. 

"!F  there  is  anything  that  will  endure 

The  eye  of  God  because  it  still  is  pure, 
It  is  the  spirit  of  a  little  child, 

Fresh  from  His  hands,  and  therefore  undefined. 
Nearer  the  gate  of  Paradise  than  we, 

Our  children  breathe  its  airs,  iis  angels  see; 
And  when  they  pray  God  hears  their  simple  prayer, 

Yea,  even  sheathes  His  sword,  in  judgment  bare." 


thoughtful  words  of  the  poet  always  recurred  to 
A  my  mind  when  I  met  little  Briant  Stevens.  We 
notice,  with  most  children,  how  quickly  they  grow  away 
from  the  absolute  and  perfect  purity  of  childhood  into  the 
heedlessness  of  youth;  and  often,  too  often,  with  their  expe- 
rience of  life  comes  experience  of  wrong.  Of  all  the  boys  that 
I  ever  met,  who  had  reached  years  of  accountability,  I  think 
Briant  Stevens  bore  in  his  face  and  manner  the  most  evidence 


24  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

of  a  retention  of  that  saintliness  which  is  the  endowment  of 
each  of  God's  little  ones.  Not  that  he  seemed  too  solemn  for 
earth:  but  because  there  was  a  fearless  grace/and  yet  a  tender- 
ness, which  showed  that  the  inherent  beauty  of  his  young  life 
was  still  unsoiled. 

4 'You  hear  that  boy  laugh? — you  think  he's  in  fun; 

But  the  angels  laugh,  too,  at  the  good  he  has  done; 
The  children  laugh  loud  as  they  troop  to  his  ca1!, 

And  the  poor  man  that  knows  him  laughs  loudest  of  all! ' ' 

This  was  the  boy,  Briant  Stringam  Stevens.  Often  have  I 
seen  strangers  when'passing  him^in  the  street  pause  and  make 
inquiry  concerning  him.  His  demeanor  was  so  admirable  that 
they  could  not  restrain  a  desire  to  know  something  of  him. 
Distinctly  I  can  remember  the  first  time  I  ever  saw  him — when 
he  was  about  ten  years  old.  He  had  his  books  under  his  arm, 
and  was  evidently  going  to  school.  His  appearance  was  so 
attractive  that  I  felt  impelled  to  stop  him  and  a&k  his  name. 
Without  the  slightest  ^embarrassment,  he  lifted  his  hat  and 
answered  me  politely  and  cordially.  From  that  time  I  nevtr 
met  him  without  receiving  his  gentlemanly  salutation.  Those 
of  our  people  who  knew  him  can  all  conscientiously  speak  of 
him  as  "The  Little  Saint;"  scores  of  worldly  people  who  knew 
him  call  him  l%The  Little  Gentleman." 


BRIANT  STRINGAM  STEVENS  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Jordan 
Stevens  and  Maria  Stringam  Stevens,  and  the  grandson  ot 
Briant  Stringam.  He  was  born  December  24th,  1873,  in  the 
Thirteenth  Ward  of  Salt  Lake  City.  He  died  February  3rd, 
1887,  at  Ogden. 

Few  people  who  have  barely  lived  to  enter  their  fourteenth 
year  have  done  so  much  that  is  worthy  of  record  and  emulation 
as  this  little  boy.  After  he  had  obtained  membership  in  the 
Church  through  baptism,  he  became  deeply  impressed  with 
the  desire  to  bring  the  same  blessings  to  others.  Among  his 
playmates  were  several  boys  who  were  his  own  age  and 
some  who  were  older  than  himself;  and /whose  parents  had 
failed — either  through  carelessness  or  intention  —to  have  their 
children  baptized.  Without  a  hint  from  any  person,  little 


BRIANT  S.  STEVENS.  25 


Briant  took  upon  himself  the  duty  to  convince  these  children 
and  their  parents  of  the  necessity  of  bapti-m.  What  anxious 
hours  the  little  fellow  spent  in  devising  means  to  influence  his 
playmates,  no  one  living  now  can  tell;  but  the  subject  seemed 
ever  present  with  him,  and  after  months  of  labor  among  his 
companions  he  had  converted  four  of  the  boys  at  least  one  of 
whom  was  older  than  himself,  to  a  belief  in  the  Gospel,  and 
to  desire  for  membership  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  Briant 
a^ked  his  father  to  administer  the  ordinance  to  these  little 
converts;  but  Brother  Stevens  informed  ihe  child  that  he 
could  not  baptize  any  of  the  boys  without  the  consent  of  their 
pare  nts.  Still  of  his  own  volition,  and  without  instruction  or 
advice  from  anybody,  Briant  visited  the  homes  of  his  play- 
mates, and  began  a  missionary  labor  with  the  parents.  Nothing 
could  discourage  him;  he  went  bravely  to  the  people  and  pleaded 
with  them  on  behalf  of  their  sons. 

And,  after  patient  and  hopeful  waiting,  Briant  gained  the 
consent  which  he  so  earnestly  sought.  It  was  a  happy  day  for 
him  when  he  went  with  his  father  to  the  bank  of  the  Ogden 
River  and  saw  his  companions,  who  were  most  truly  his  little 
brethren,  emerge  from  the  water  and  receive  their  confirmation 
for  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

But  Briant' s  guardianship  of  these  boys  did  not  end  when 
their  baptism  was  accomplished.  With  a  gravity  beyond  his 
years,  he  visited  them  one  after  another  at  their  homes,  and 
instructed  them  concerning  the  responsibilities  which  they  had 
assumed,  and  the  necessity  of  purity  of  conduct  becoming  to 
Saints  of  God,  if  they  wished  to  derive  blessing  from  their 
obedience  to  the  holy  requirement.  Whenever  and  wherever 
he  met  them,  he  was  always  ready  and  able  to  counsel  them; 
and  yet  he  did  not  trouble  them  with  long  sermons,  but  spoke 
to  them  with  so  much  feeling  and  sood-fellowship  that  they 
were  led  day  by  day  to  a  greater  detestation  of  evil,  and  to  a 
greater  love  for  good. 

He  persuaded  them  to  attend  Sunday  School,  and  to  take 
part  in  the  exercises  of  the  Preceptor  Class;  never  permitting 
them  to  wander  very  long  or  very  far  without  giving  them  his 
admonition.  Older  persons  who  have  had  experience  in  this 


26  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

matter  will  readily  understand  that  his  work,  even  with  his 
four  youog  converts,  was  a  daily  one.  It  was  not  sufficient  to 
bring  them  into  the  Church;  but,  with  all  the  distracting  influ- 
ences which  surrounded  them,  it  was  necessary  that  they 
should  learn  to  love  the  truth  and  to  understand  it  for  them- 
selves. 

One  of  these  boys,  who  lived  near  to  Briant's  home  and 
was  his  frequent  companion,  became  anxious  to  hold  the 
Aaronic  Priesthood,  He  had  arrived  at  years  which  justified 
that  wish,  and  he  talked  with  Briant  upon  the  subject.  Briant 
consulted  with  Brother  Stevens  and  learned  that  it  would  be 
possible  for  his  companion  to  receive  the  desired  ordinance, 
but  that  consent  must  be  gained  from  the  boy's  parents.  Again 
Briant  took  upon  himself  the  responsibility  of  gaining  that 
permission;  but  the  opportunity  did  not  come  in  this  life. 

He  was  extending  his  little  missionary  labors  up  to  the  very 
hour  that  he  was  stricken.  Several  other  boys  had  aroused 
his  interest,  and  sometimes  he  confided  to  his  father  that  he 
hoped  to  see  these  companions  do  much  good,  though  their 
ways  were  not  always  becoming  to  children  who  believed  in 
the  gospel.  On  more  than  one  occasion  when  he  found  these 
boys  lapsing  into  wrong-doing  or  carelessness,  he  confessed  to 
his  father  a  fear  that  he  would  not  be  able  to  do  them  any 
good,  and  that  he  must  cease  his  association  with  them.  And 
3Tet  he  always  returned  to  the  labor  with  renewed  hope  and 
courage. 

It  is  a  dangerous  experiment  to  trust  one  good  boy  with  a 
number  of  playmates  who  are  not  what  they  should  be; 
because,  as  a  rule,  he  learns  to  partake  with  them.  But 
Brother  Stevens  gives  a  marvelous  testimony  to  the  worth  of 
his  son  when  he  says: 

"I  never  felt  the  slightest  fear  for  Briant.  In  this  matter 
I  knew  that  he  was  led  by  a  good  Spirit,  and  I  trusted  him 
implicitly  and  without  requiring  him  to  account  for  his  con- 
duct. He  seemed  in  all  matters  of  goodness  to  be  easily 
impressed;  but  evil  appeared,  if  not  incomprehensible,  at  least 
entirely  unattractive  to  him." 

The  teacher  of  the  Preceptor  Class  which  Briant  attended 
was  Brother  Austin  C.  Brown;  he  says  that  the  questions 


ZRTANT  S.  STEVENS.  27 

which  Briant  propounded  to  him  occasioned  great  marvel  in 
his  mind.  The  clearness  with  which  the  young  boy  spoke  of 
the  principles  of  the  gospel,  the  perfect  understanding  which 
he  seemed  to  gain,  almost  intuitively,  of  the  truth,  were  as 
surprising  as  they  were  gratifying.  In  other  matters  the  boy 
was  very  precocious.  He  attended  the  academic  department 
of  the  Central  School  of  Ogden,  and  wastheyouogest,  though 
not  the  last,  in  his  class.  He  early  developed  a  talent  for 
drawing  and  painting,  and  his  parents  and  friends  are  now  in 
possession  of  some  exquisite  little  gems  produced  by  him. 

Before  he  received  the  Priesthood  he  was  a  constant  attend- 
ant upon  the  meetings  of  his  young  brethren,  the  Deacons; 
and  he  anxiously  awaited  the  time  when  he  could  be  deemed 
of  sufficient  age  and  worth  to  receive  an  ordination  to  this 
calling.  He  had  the  highest  reverence  for  the  Presthood, 
and  he  believed  most  firmly  in  the  powtr  of  the  gospel. 
Whenever  he  was  in  pain  or  illness,  his  sole  desire  was  for  the 
blessing  of  his  father  or  other  Elders  of  the  Church.  Several 
times  he  was  instantly  healed  from  infirmities  under  the 
administration  of  the  servants  of  Grod. 

At  home  he  was  perpetual  sunshine.  From  the  hour  that 
he  was  10  years  old  he  never  permitted  his  father  to  attend  to 
any  of  the  labors  in  the  garden  or  with  the  stock  which  his 
young  hands  could  perform.  He  was  so  kind  to  the  horse  and 
the  cow,  and  the  other  domestic  animals,  that  they  learned  to 
know  him  and  to  love  him  perfectly.  Even  the  cat  would  fol- 
low him  through  the  garden,  and  run  to  rub  her  head  against 
his  leg.  The  parrot,  when  released  from  its  cage,  would  fol- 
low him  about  the  house  like  a  dog.  It  would  mount  to  his 
shoulder  and  kiss  his  cheeks  or  lips  daintily  and  tenderly; 
while  with  everbody  else  it  showed  the  crossness  for  which 
parrots  are  proverbial,  biting,  scolding  and  clawing  at  the 
slightest  attempt  at  familiarity. 

Briant  kept  many  pigeons— often  as  many  as  fifty  at  one 
time.  They  knew  him  and  flocked  about  him  fearlessly.  He 
gave  many  of  them  away  to  his  young  friends,  but  never  with- 
out exacting  a  promise  from  the  boys  that  they  would  be  kind 
to  the  birds  and  would  not  sell  them  to  anyone  who  would 


28  HELPFUL  V1SIOSS. 

abuse  them.  He  had  a  great  horror  of  the  cruelty  of  pigeon- 
shooting  matches,  and  would  not  sell  one  of  his  doves  for  such 
a  purpose  under  any  circumstances,  or  for  any  amount  of 
money.  If  strange  boys  came  to  him  to  buy  pigeons,  he 
invariably  enquired  for  what  purpose  they  wore  purchased. 
And  unless  the  buyers  would  give  him  a  faithful  promise  not 
to  sell  the  birds  for  shooting-matches,  he  would  not  part  with 
his  pets. 

Whenever  he  received  money  from  the  sale  of  pigeons,  he 
carried  it  to  his  father,  and  offered  it  with  the  remark  that  he 
cared  nothing  for  it,  and  wanted  his  father  to  use  it  for  the 
best  purpose.  He  had  but  one  extravagance  with  money — 
and  that  was  to  give  it  to  the  poor.  Not  only  would  he  part 
with  his  last  dime  for  this  purpose,  but  often  he  borrowed 
money  from  his  relatives  and  friends  to  give  to  the  needy. 

About  four  years  before  Briant's  death,  his  little  brother, 
Jordan,  died.  The  two  had  been  inseparable— brothers  in  the 
fullest  sense.  They  shared  all  their  possessions  equally;  and 
one  never  felt  content  without  the  presence  and  happiness  of 
the  other.  When  Jordan  passed  from  earth,  Briant  said  to 
his  father: 

"I  know  that  my  dear  little  brother  is  happy  and  well;  but 
I  cannot  help  feeling  lonesome." 

He  gathered  up  Jordan's  share  of  the  toys  and  books  which 
had  belonged  to  them,  and  put  them  sacredly  away.  To  this 
hour  they  remain  in  the  place  and  in  the  order  where  they 
were  put  by  his  loving  little  hands. 

A  few  months  before  Briant  was  stricken  he  lost  a  favorite 
pigeon.  It  was  a  snow-white  bird  which  had  belonged  to 
Jordan.  When  Briant  found  that  it  was  surely  gone  he  shed 
some  tears,  and  said  to  his  mother: 

"I  would  have  preferred  to  lose  all  my  other  pigeons  than 
to  have  lost  Whitey,  for  that  was  little  Jordie's  pet." 

Then  he  drew  a  periect  picture  of  the  lost  bird  and  placed 
it  in  a  nook  in  the  barn,  underneath  these  words: 

"Whitey,  nine  years  old/' 

With  all  the  many  virtues  and  the  thoughtfulness  of  this 
little  boy,  he  was  not  mawkish  in  his  manner.  At  times,  when 


BRIAN T  S.  STEVENS.  21) 

deeply  impressed,  he  was  solemn  in  word  and  look;  but  he  was 
full  of  healthy  sentiment,  and  was  bubbling  over  with  energy 
and  brightness. 


CHAPTER    II. 


ACCIDENTS  TO  BRIANT— HE  is  ORDAINED  TO  THE  PRIEST- 
HOOD— PATIENT  ENDURANCE  OF  His  SUFFERINGS — 
HE  is  BLESSED  TO  BE  AN  ELDER  AND  THEN  SLUMBERS 
IN  DEATH. 

IN  October  last,  1886,  with  a  number  of  companionsBriant  was 
playing  on  a  trapeze  at  the  house  of  a  friend,  when  he  fell  and 
broke  his  right  arm.  Af  cr  the  accident,  Briant  did  not  hurry 
to  his  home,  which  was  only  a  block  away;  but  an  hour  later 
his  father  found  him  at  the  doctor's  office,  where  the  arm  had 
been  set.  Briant  was  perfectly  composed;  and,  instead  of  cry- 
ing as  most  boys  do  when  a  new  sympathiser  comes,  he  gave 
his  first  thought  to  his  mother,  who  had  been  quite  ill  and 
had  not  yet  entirely  recovered.  He  said  to  his  father: 

"I  hope  mamma  does  not  know  of  this.  If  not,  then  we 
will  keep  it  from  her;  because  she  would  worry  a  great  deal, 
and  the  anxiety  might  make  her  worse." 

When  they  went  home  Briant  bounded  into  the  house  with 
a  smile  on  his  lips,  and  in  reply  to  his  mother's  anxious  ques- 
tions he  said: 

"Nothing  serious,  mamma.  I  have  strained  my  arm;  but 
it  will  be  well  in  a  few  days." 

He  kissed  her  and  then  ran  laughing  from  the  room, 
although  at  the  time  he  must  have  been  suffering  excruciating 
pain.  Some  time  elapsed  before  his  mother  knew  the  truth; 
and  then  she  did  not  learn  it  from  Briant. 

He  had  recovered  from  the  cutward  appearance  of  his 
injury  to  his  arm,  but  it  was  not  yet  strong,  when  he  met  with 
another  and  more  serious  accident.  With  two  of  his  compan- 
ions he  was  jumping  from  a  low  roof,  when  his  foot  caught 
and  he  fell  headlong  to  the  ground.  The  weak  arm  received 


SO  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

the  weight  of  the  shock;  the  old  break  was  re-opened  and  the 
bones  were  split  in  a  new  place,  and  one  of  them  protruded 
from  a  bleeding  wound  in  the  wrist.  He  had  fallen  upon  a 
heap  of  sand,  and  when  he  rose  to  his  feet  he  found  that  in 
the  gash  made  by  the  broken  bone  the  sand  and  dirt  had  pen- 
etrated. He  sat  down  and  wiped  his  wrist  and  the  bone  clean, 
put  back  the  bone  inside  the  flesh  of  his  arm,  and  then  started 
for  the  doctor's  office.  As  in  the  other  instance,  his  home 
was  only  a  block  away,  but  he  did  not  wi^h  to  alarm  his  folks. 
Failing  to  find  the  doctor  he  went  to  a  drugstore,  and,  explain- 
ing his  injury,  asked  that  the  physician  be  sent  for.  An  hour 
later  Brother  Stevens  found  Briant  sitting,  pale  but  com- 
placent, in  the  doctor's  office,  awaiting  treatment.  The  nec- 
essary operation  was  long  and  painful,  and  at  its  close  Briant 
was  very  weak.  He  whispered  to  his  father: 

"I  am  all  right,  papa,  and  will  soon  be  well;  but  I  hope  that 
we  can  get  home  quickly,  because  I  want  you  to  administer  to 
me." 

This  second  serious  accident  occurred  on  the  18th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1887;  a  week  later— on  the  25th  day  of  the  month — lock- 
jaw set  in,  and  his  suffering  became  intense. 

Brother  Stevens  went  on  the  day  following  to  ask  the  assist- 
ance of  Elders  George  W.  Larkin  and  Moroni  Poulter  in 
watching  with  Briant;  and  these  two  brethren  remained  alter- 
nately at  the  child's  bedside,  day  and  night,  until  he  closed 
his  eyes  in  death.  On  the  morning  of  the  26th  of  January, 
before  the  visit  of  Brother  Stevens,  Elder  Larkin  said  to  his 
family: 

"I  had  a  strange  and  sad  dream  about  little  Briant  Stevens 
last  night.  I  wonder  if  the  boy  is  sick." 

Half  an  hour  later  Brother  Stevens  called  with  the  sorrow- 
ful message;  but  Elder  Larkin,  though  amazed  at  the  coinci- 
dence, would  not  relate  the  nature  of  his  dream,  for  fear  of 
rending  the  father's  heart.  But  the  dream  was  later  fulfilled 
to  the  letter,  and  was  then  fully  stated. 

Bishop  Stratford  had  selected  Briant,  a  few  weeks  before 
the  second  accident,  as  a  proper  subject  for  ordination  to  the 
Aaronic  Priesthood;  but  the  ordinance  had  not  yet  been 


BRTANT  S.  STEVENS.  31 

attended  to.  And  while  Briant  was  prostrated,  he  was  com- 
forted by  receiving  this  blessing  under  the  direction  of  the 
proper  authorities.  At  the  same  time  he  remembered  his 
promise  to  his  young  convert  and  companion,  and  he  so 
impressed  his  anxiety  upon  his  father's  mind  that— on  the 
very  day  of  Briant' s  funeral — Brother  Stevens  visited  the 
other  little  chap  and  made  an  arrangement  for  his  ordination. 

When  the  more  serious  affliction  of  lock-jaw  came  upon 
Briant,  he  expressed  but  one  regret:  he  feared  that  his  mis- 
fortunes were  bringing  trouble  and  annoyance  upon  his  parents 
and  friends.  Beyond  this  source  of  anxiety,  all  was  peace 
with  him.  He  never  expressed  the  slightest  fear  for  himself. 
He  was  always,  according  to  his  hopeful  words,  in  a  state  of 
improvement:  never  needing  anything  except  the  blessing  of 
God;  never  enduring  much  pain;  but  quite  content  if  the 
Elders  were  present  to  administer  to  him  and  to  talk  with  him 
about  the  things  of  God. 

One  day  he  called  his  father  and  mother  to  his  bedside  and 
said  to  them: 

"I  am  not  afraid  to  die;  for  there  is  nothing  in  death  of 
which  I  have  any  dread.  Only  I  want  to  take  part  in  the 
building  of  the  temple  to  God  in  Jackson  County." 

On  another  occasion  he  said  to  the  Elders  who  were  watch- 
ing with  him: 

"I  shall  get  better  soon,  and  then  I  shall  be  able  to  repay 
you  for  your  great  kindness.  I  want  to  see  the  coming  of  our 
Lord  Jesus;  I  want  to  go  back  to  Jackson  County  to  help  to 
build  the  temple  there  for  Him.  And  I  know  that  I  will  aid 
in  this  work." 

One  of  the  brethren  was  moved  upon  by  the  Spirit  of  God 
to  administer  to  Briant  and  to  promise  that  this  hope  should 
be  fulfilled;  that  the  boy  should  see  the  coming  of  Christ  and 
be  with  the  Saints  in  Jackson  County  when  they  should  build 
the  temple. 

Night  after  night  the  Elders  came  and  watched  with  Briant, 
blessing  him  and  ministering  to  his  wants.  They  esteemed  it 
not  a  task,  but  a  pleasure;  because,  as  they  all  stated,  they 
never  before  felt  such  a  constant  power  and  influence  of  the 


HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

Spirit  as  they  encountered  at  this  boy's  bedside.  So  peaceful 
and  joyous  was  the  manifestation  to  them  that  everyone  felt 
that  no  death  was  in  the  house. 

But  the  niglt  before  Briant  died  one  of  the  Elders  who  had 
attended  at  the  bedside,  fell  asleep  while  thinking  about  the 
sick  child.  He  dreamed  that  himself  and  three  of  his  com- 
panion Eiders,  who  had  also  waited  on  Briant,  went  upon  a 
journey  into  a  distant  and  beautiful  country.  They  seemed 
to  have  some  definite  object  in  view,  but  during  their  travel 
this  ol  ject  was  not  present  to  their  minds. 

When  they  reached  the  fair  land  of  their  destination,  they 
saw  a  superb  building,  which  they  at  once  divined  to  be  a 
temple ^of  the  living  God.  It  was  not  yet  completed;  but  it 
had  assumed  such  proportions  as  to  show  the  utmost  grandeur. 
It  was  const:  ucted  of  white,  shining  stone,  seemingly  as  hard 
as  granite.  Many  workmen  appeared  to  te  engaged  in  the 
building;  and  one  of  them,  clothed  in  a  white  robe,  with  his 
head  and  hands  and  feet  bare,  stood  upon  the  ground  near  the 
entrance  to  the  structure. 

In  the  white  outer  wall,  at  one  side  of  the  mighty  arched 
doorway,  and  at  the  height  of  a  man's  head,  a  monogram 
seemed  to  be  newly  set  into  the  stone.  It  was  composed  of 
three  letters;  the  top  one  being  B,  clearly  distinguishable;  and 
the  other  two  being  fainter.  At  once  the  sojourners  knew 
that  this  was  what  they  had  come  after.  The  Elder  who 
dreamed,  thought  that  he  reached  forward  and  attempted  to 
take  it  from  its  p'ace.  But  the  white  robed  workman  stayed 
his  hand,  saving: 

"You  cannot  take  it.  It  has  been  set  here  by  order  of  the 
Master,  as  an  ornament  to  this  temple." 

The  Elders  then  walked  around  the  building,  and  entered 
the  interior  through  a  magnificent  portal,  and  saw  that  much 
workmanship  of  floe  patterns  was  being  used  in  the  adorn- 
ment of  the  structure.  They  walked  out  and  once  more 
essayed  to  pluck  the  monogram  from  its  place  in  the  glittering 
wall.  But  again  the  voice  of  the  guardian  workman  stayed 
their  hands.  For  the  second  time  they  walked  around  the 
.  temple,  entered  through  the  archway  and  gazed  at  the  mag- 
nificent interior.  Then  they  said:  - 


BRIANT  S.  STEVENS. 


"Let  us  try  once  more." 

The  third  time  the  Elder  stretched  out  his  hand  to  take  the 
monogram;  but,  as  on  the  other  occasions,  he  was  told  to 
desist.  The  workman  had  spoken  to  him  each  time  in  per- 
fect kindness,  but  in  a  decided  tone.  On  this  final  effort  a 
voice  sounding  like  a  trumpet  descended  from  the  top  of  the 
building,  saying: 

"Brother  [calling  him  byname],  you  must  go  back;  your 
^ish  cannot  be  granted." 

Then  they  withdrew.  Soon  the  Elder  awoke,  and  he  felt 
certain  that  the  prayers  which  had  been  offered  concerning 
Briant  Stevens — though  they  had  reached  the  throue  of  the 
Eternal  Father — were  powerless  to  change  the  decree  which 
had  been  made  in  heaven  concerning  the  boy,  and  thatBrianfc 
must  speedily  pass  from  earth. 

The  next  day  this  Elder  was  sitting  in  Fast  meeting,  when 
the  dream  recurred  to  his  mind;  and  instantly  he  felt  that 
Briant  should  be  ordained  to  the  Melchisedoc  Priesthood 
before  his  death.  The  Elder  would  have  gone  to  the  hour e, 
but  a  sudden  impression  came  to  him  that  he  need  have  no 
anxiety,  for  the  matter  was  already  receiving  attention. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3rd  of  February,  which  was  Fast- 
day,  Brother  Stevens  was  prompted  to  ordain  Briant  to  the 
Melchisedec  Priesthood;  but  he  endeavored  to  banish  the 
thought  from  his  mind.  It  constantly  re3urred  to  him,  each 
time  growing  more  imperative.  He  was  not  alone  in  this  feel- 
ing, for  several  Elders  who  had  watched  with  Briant  felt  the 
same  hifluetce  at  the  same  time,  although  they  were  not  ail 
present.  But  one  of  them,  who  was  sitting  at  the  bedside, 
said: 

"Brother  Stevens,  I  have  felt  for  several  hours  that  I  ought 
to  speak  to  you  about  ordaining  Briant  to  be  an  Elder  in  the 
Church.  I  think  that  you  ought  to  do  this  at  once." 

Brother  Stevens  admitted  that  the  same  feeling  had  been  in 
his  mind;  but  that  he  had  hesitated,  for  fear  that  such  a 
course  might  seem  like  giving  up  a  hope  of  Briant's  recovery. 
But  after  such  admonitions  he  could  no  longer  neglect  the 
warning,  and  he  sent  for  the  Bishop.  The  messenger,  on  hid 


S4  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

way  to  the  Bishop's  place,  met  President  Shurtliff  and  spoke 
to  him  of  Briant;  and  che  President  seemed  to  have  enter- 
tained the  same  thought,  for  he  said  that  he  was  led  to  believe 
that  Briant  should  receive  the  Me'chisedec  Priesthood. 

When  this  holy  ordination  was  conferred  upon  him,  Briant 
became  rerene,  though  he  had  been  in  great  pain  for  some 
time  preceding,  and  he  sank  at  once  into  an  easy  slumber. 

He  woke  not  in  this  world.  In  an  hour  his  breathing 
ceased  and  his  spirit  left  the  tortured  clay  to  undergo  the 
transition  of  nature,  while  the  noble  life  went  to  another  realm 
to  perform  its  destined  mission. 

Elder  George  Larkin  was  in  the  room  when  Briant  died; 
and  to  him  was  entrusted  the  sad  duty  of  preparing  the  wasted 
body  for  its  burial.  When  his  solemn  task  was  completed  he 
buist  into  tears  and  said  to  Brother  Stevens: 

4 'Now  my  dream  is  fulfilled.  The  night  before  you  called 
for  me,  a  vision  came  in  my  slumber.  I  saw  Briant  lying  dead 
in  this  room,  and  mine  was  the  dread  duty  to  wash  and  dress 
his  deserted  tabernacle  and  place  it  in  the  coffin.  And  so  it 
has  come  to  pass,  exactly  according  to  my  dream." 


CHAPTER    III; 


A  "HELPFUL  VISION"  TO  BRIANT' s  STRICKEN  FATHER— 
THE  COMFORTER  BRINGS  THE  PEACE  WHICH  PASSES 
ALL  UNDERSTANDING— THE  FUNERAL  OF  THE  LITTLE 
MISSIONARY— His  WORK  LIVES  AFTER  HIM. 

npHERE  was  but  one  thought  produced  in  the  minds  of  all  who 
A  knew  of  the  last  scene  at  this  good  little  Briant' s  bedside: 
it  was  that  in  all  the  spasms  and  torture  of  his  dread  disease 
he  had  been  kept  alive  to  receive  the  power  of  this  ordination; 
and  as  soon  as  the  administration  was  effected,  the  purpose  of 
his  mortal  life  was  fulfilled,  and  he  passed  from  a  peaceful 
slumber  on  earth  into  a  glorious  waking  beyond. 

The  night  after  Briant  died,  Brother  and  Sister  Stevens 
were  crushed  with  woe.     They  were  not  entirely  disconsolate; 


BRIAN T  S.  STEVENS.  35 

they  did  not  mourn  as  those  who  have  no  hope,  and  yet  they 
seemed  unable  to  reconcile  themselves  to  the  loss  of  their 
pride  and  joy.  Brother  Stevens  himself  said  to  a  friend  at 
this  hour: 

UI  know  that  Briant  is  at  peace.  I  know  that  he  is  a  trea- 
sure and  a  joy  to  his  God  wherever  he  is;  and  I  do  not  repine 
at  the  decree  which  has  taken  him  away,  after  so  many  years 
of  blessing  in  his  society;  but  when  I  remember  that  in  every 
nook  about  our  home  there  is  some  evidence  of  his  handiwork; 
when  I  think  of  all  the  comfort  he  has  been— I  cannot  hold 
back  this  feeling  of  agony. ' ' 

That  night  Brother  Stevens  prayed  that  the  Lord  would  give 
consolation^,  and  make  manifest  something  of  His  glory 
to  banish  the  overwhelming  sorrow  which  was  in  that  stricken 
home.  When  Brother  Stevens  fell  asleep  he  dreamed;  and  it 
became  a  dream  within  a  dream: 

He  thought  that  he  went  to  bed  and  dreamed  that  Briant 
was  dead.  The  friends  and  relatives  who  nocked  around  were 
moaning  in  anguish  and  asking  in  agonized  tones  what  they 
could  do  to  bring  little  Briant  back  to  life.  The  father  retired 
to  a  room  and  fell  upon  his  knees,  and  asked  the  Lord  what 
should  be  done  in  the  matter;  and  the  voice  of  the  Spirit  came 
to  him,  saying: 

"COVER  BRIANT' s  BODY  WITH  CLAY;  AND  THEN  PATIENTLY 

AWAIT  MY  PURPOSE.  Ip  YOU  WILL  OBEY  THIS  COMMAND, 
I  WILL  SHOW  YOU  THE  GLORY  NOW  POSSESSED  BY  Bitl- 
ANT. ' ' 

While  he  still  knelt  this  command  was  repeated;  and  he 
rose  to  his  feet.  Entering  the  room  where  the  little  white- 
robed  figure  lay,  he  said  to  the  weeping  attendants: 

"I  know  now  what  I  shall  do.  You  need  worry  no  more; 
bacause  God  has  told  me,  and  I  will  fulfill  His  design." 

The  father  lifted  the  body  in  his  arms  from  the  bed  whereon 
it  lay  in  dread  repose,  and  laid  it  upon  the  floor.  He  took 
clay  and  with  his  hands  covered  the  marble  form  deeply, 
until  there  was  visible  no  semblance  of  the  body.  And 
then  he  sat  down  to  await  God's  purpose.  A  long  time  and 
patiently  he  seemed  to  sit;  and  at  length  he  saw  a  light  and  in 


36  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

this  light  was  little  Briant,  standing  in  the  air,  robed  in  snowy 
whiteness,  with  a  face  transfigured  in  its  light  and  beauty. 
The  b  \v  smiled  at  him  and  moved  his  hands  as  if  in  loving 
recognition.  This  ethereal  form  of  Briant  moved  about  in  the 
room  without  effort.  A  single  inclination  of  the  shining  head 
seemed  to  project  the  body  in  any  desired  direction. 

While  the  father  watched  and  marvelled  and  felt  great 
joy,  he  dreamed  that  he  awoke  from  his  dream  and  found  his 
little  Briant  still  convulsed  and  tortured  by  the  power  of  the 
Destroyer. 

And  then  he  seemed  to  weep  in  agony  because  of  his  boy's 
suffering;  for  now  instead  of  a  familiar  face  yet  transfigured  in 
lovely  happiness,  he  saw  a  countenance  strange  and  distorted 
by  pain.  He  wished  and  prayed  that  Briant' s  torture  might 
cease,  and  that  the  boy  might  be  translated  to  heavenly  radi- 
ance. 

But  soon  in  reality  the  father  awoke,  and  sensed  that  Briant 
was  surely  dead.  And  back  came  to  his  soul  the  feeling  of 
patient  hope  and  unrepining  trust  which  had  seemed  to  pre- 
vade  the  inner  dream.  He  sincerely  and  submissively  praised 
God's  holy  name.  He  told  his  wife  what  he  had  seen  in  this 
vision  of  the  night,  and  together  they  took  comfort ;  and  through 
all  the  tribulation  and  loneliness  which  have  followed  the  loss 
of  their  eldest  boy,  they  have  felt  a  comfort  and  sustaining 
power  which  nothing  on  earth  can  give,  and  nothing  on  earth 
can  take  away.  They  know  that,  having  covered  Briant' s 
body  with  clay,  they  have  now  but  to  patiently  await  God's 
purpose,  and  He  will  sometime  restore  to  them  the  glorified, 
the  redeemed,  the  happy  child. 

The  funeral  of  this  little  Elder  of  the  Church  was  held  in 
the  Ward  Meeting  House  in  Ogden  on  Sunday,  February  6th, 
1887,  and  was  attended  by  some  hundreds  of  people,  ten  of 
Briant's  young  companions  acting  as  pall-bearers. 

It  was  the  remark  of  the  majority  of  those  who  were  present 
that  the  Spirit  of  God  seemed  to  fill  the  meeting-house  and 
make  its  abiding-place  in  every  heart.  Among  the  speakers 
were  the  Elders  who  had  attended  Briant  in  his  final  act  of 
suffering.  They  paid  a  glorious  tribute  to  his  patience  and  to 


BRIANT  S.  STEVENS.  37 

his  integrity.  All  felt  that  it  was  in  fulfillment  of  God's  own 
purpose  that  Briant  had  been  called  from  earth ;  and  that  the 
agony  which  he  had  endured  was  but  the  doorway  through 
which  he  entered  into  the  Eternal  Presence.  The  Elder  who 
had  promised  in  a  holy  administration  to  Briant  that  the  child 
should  have  his  hope  fulfilled  and  engage  in  the  building  of 
the  temple  with  the  Saints  in  Jackson  County,  addressed  the 
congregation  in  a  most  feeling  manner.  It  was  he  who  had 
dreamed  of  the  temple  and  the  monogram  of  Briant's  name. 
And  he  knew  that  the  hand  of  God  was  in  the  event  of  the 
boy's  death.  While  this  Elder  spoke,  his  face  shone  with  the 
Spirit  of  God,  and  his  words  thrilled  every  heart.  Out  of  the 
hundreds  who  were  present,  probably  there  were  no  Saints 
who  did  not  see  a  direct  manifestation  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on 
this  occasion.  The  Elder  renewed  the  promise  which  he  had 
made  to  Briant  during  the  child's  lifetime;  and  he  did  it, 
unquestionably,  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty.  He 
said: 

"It  seems  strange  to  our  natural  senses  that  this  child  shou'd 
be  lying  here,  stilled  in  death,  and  yet  we  shou'd  entertain  a 
belief— nay,  a  knowledge,  that  he  will  be  with  the  Saints  in 
his  own  dear  person,  at  the  building  of  the  temple  in  Jackson 
County.  And  yet,  my  brethren  and  sisters,  I  know  that  the 
promise  made  to  him  will  be  fulfilled.  We  are  drawing  nearer 
to  that  great  day  when  wondrous  things  shall  be  manifested 
unto  us ;  the  veil  between  us  and  the  eternal  abode  of  our 
Almighty  Father  is  growing  thinner  day  by  day.  It  is  a'most 
ready  to  bur^t." 

Elders  Rodney  C.  Badger  and  Robert  F.  Neslen,  of  Sale  Lake, 
also  addressed  the  congregation.  Elder  Neslen,  in  referring 
to  the  missionary  work  performed  by  Briant  Stevens,  turned 
to  a  number  of  old  veterans  of  the  Church  who  were  sitting 
upon  the  stand,  and  said : 

"This  dear  little  boy  by  his  own  efforts  brought  four  souls 
into  a  belief  in  the  everlasting  gospel.  His  converts  are  here 
to  day,  sincere  believers,  full  of  promise  and  devotion  to  the 
work,  and  now  I  doubt  whether  some  of  the  rest  of  us  whose 
forms  are  bowed,  and  whose  hair  is  gray,  with  all  our  wander- 


38  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

ings  up  and  down  the  face  of  the  earth,  can  truly  say  that  we 
have  done  more  than  he." 

^  The  little  form  of  Briant  Stevens  was  laid  away  in  the  ceme- 
tery ;  but  his  work  did  not  end  with  the  vanishing  of  his  form 
from  its  daily  associations.  Of  him  truly  it  may  be  said  that 
his  work  lives  after  him.  Some  of  his  former  companions 
have  been  changed  from  the  hour  that  they  learned  of  his 
death ;  and  if  there  be  any  prospect  in  human  life  which  can 
be  deemed  certain  of  fulfillment,  these  children  will  be  his  imi- 
tators in  all  that  was  good.  Word  has  come  to  his  parents, 
even  from  distant  points,  that  children  who  knew  him  have 
said  since  his  death,  "we  will  try  to  live  like  little  Briant  Ste- 
vens, so  that  if  we  should  die  we  can  be  remembered." 

And  two  of  his  daily  associates — one  of  them  being  Fred  J. 
Bluth,  was  with  him  on  each  occasion  when  he  broke  his  arm, 
and  the  other  being  Edgar  Peterson,  one  of  Briant's  converts, 
have  received  a  power  and  manifestation  concerning  him  which 
is  not  unworthy  of  mention. 

Briant  and  Fred  attended  the. Central  School  together;  and 
each  night  Briant,  who  was  the  earlier  released  from  his  classes, 
waited  at  the  gate  for  Fred.  In  the  second  night  afcer  Briant 
was  buried,  Fred  had  a  dream  which  he  relates  almost  exactly 
in  the  following  words : 

"I  thought  that  Briant  was  waiting  for  me  at  the  gate  as 
usual — only  he  was  dressed  in  white  raiment,  like  that  in 
which  he  lay  in  the  coffin.  When  I  came  near  him,  he  sprang  to 
my  side  and  threw  his  arms  around  my  neck.  He  took  my 
hand,  and  said:  'Come,  Fred,  with  me.' 

4 'Hand  in  hand,  we  ran  up  town  together.  We  came  to  a 
house  in  which  a  baby  lay  dead.  We  entered  the  room  and 
looked  at  the  little  one.  Scill  hand  in  hand,  we  came  out,  and 
a  large  wagon  stood  before  the  door.  The  driver  came  down 
from  his  seat,  and  we  got  in  and  drove  to  a  building  like  a 
granary.  Briant  opened  the  doors.  And  then  I  heard  a  voice 
saying : 

"  'You  must  fill  the  wagon  with  corn.' 

Briant  and  I  began  to  shovel  corn  into  the  wagon ;  but  soon 
he  stopped.  I  asked : 


BRIANT  S.  STEVENS.  39 

1  "Is  it  enough?' 

"And  he  answered: 

'"Not  yet.' 

"I  worked  a  little  longer,  and  again  I  called  to  him  : 
.   "'Is  it  enough,  Briant?' 

"And  once  more  he  replied: 

"'Not  yet,  Fred.' 

"After 'a  still  longer  time,  during  which  I  worked  dili- 
gently, I  asked  him  for  the  third  time : 

"'Is  it  enough?' 

"And  Briant  replied : 

"  'Yes,  it  is  enough.     Now  you  must  come  with  me,  Fred.' 

UI  climbed  into  the  wagon  with  him;  and  then  we  drove 
away  together.  At  once  I  awoke." 

Little  Fred  felt  startled  by  this  dream.  He  related  it 
to  Edgar  Peterson,  when  the  latter  asked : 

"Do  you  know  the  meaning  of  your  dream?" 

"No." 

' 'Then  I  will  give  you  the  interpretation.  It  means  that 
your  earthly  work  is  not  yet  finished  and  that  when  it  is  done, 
Briant  will  call  for  you. ' ' 


My  young  brethren  and  sisters,  doubtless  you  all  have  ambi- 
tious moments  in  which  you  sigh  to  be  noble,  and  to  do  some 
heroic  action.  Think  of  little  Briant  Stevens.  He  learned 
the  secret  of  true  greatness.  He  lived  in  purity,  in  faith  and 
in  prayer  to  Almighty  God. 


40  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 


FINDING   COMFORT. 


The   Experience   of  a  Young  Missionary  in  a 
Lonely  Field,  1O,OOO  Miles  from  Home. 


BY   THOMAS    A.   SHREEVE. 


CHAPTER    I. 


CALLED  TO  AUSTRALASIA— THE  MODERN  IMITATORS  OF 
JOB'S  FRIENDS— OCR  "SPECIAL  INSTRUCTION"  is  TO 
"BUILD  UP  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD  IN  THOSE  LANDS" 
— A  DISAPPOINTMENT  ENDS  IN  A  BLESSING— PROMISES 
BY  AN  APOSTLE  WHICH  WERE  LITERALLY  FULFILLED 
— WE  REACH  SYDNEY,  AND  I  AM  SEPARATED  FROM 
MY  COMPANION. 

IF  a  relaton  of  my  missionary  experience  can  give  to  my 
young  brethren  and  sisters  one  tithe  of  the  strength  and  bles- 
sing which  that  experience  itself  imparted  to  me,  I  shall  be 
more  than  repaid  in  relating  it.  From  the  reading  of  similar 
accounts  by  other  Elders  I  have  derived  much  benefit  myself; 
but  I  realize  that  words  are  powerless  to  convey  a  full  descrip- 
tion of  the  events  which  befall  every  missionary  of  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints.  No  man  can  serve  his 
Savior  faithfully  in  distant  lands,  among  strangers,  without 
receiving  and  keeping  constantly  the  Spirit  of  holiness,  anc} 


FINDING  COMFORT.  41 

without  experiencing  miraculous  interpositions  in  his  behalf. 
At  the  time  of  their  occurrence  they  are  subjects  of  wonder  and 
thankfulness;  but  as  years  pass  by,  it  becomes  extremey  diffi- 
cult to  put  them  into  words  so  expressive  that  they  do  not 
seem  either  too  fanciful  for  reality,  or  too  cold  to  be  interest- 
ing. 


At  the  General  Conference  on  April  8th,  1878,  in  company 
with  Elder  Fred.  J.  May,  of  Salt  Lake,  I  was  called  to  fill  a 
mission  in  Australasia,  comprising  Australia,  Tasmania  and 
New  Zealand.  A  strange  circumstance  attended  this  calling. 
For  a  week  previous  to  the  time  that  the  public  announcement 
was  made,  some  of  the  authorities  who  had  the  matter  in 
charge,  and  who  had  my  name  with  the  names  of  other  mis- 
sionaries, had  been  looking  vainly  for  me,  or  for  someone  who 
knew  me.  Three  separate  times  my  name  was  called  in  public 
meeting,  and  a  request  for  my  attendance  at  the  President's 
office  was  made  known.  I  heard  nothing  ot  the  matter, 
although  probably  scores  of  my  friends  and  intimate  acquaint- 
ances were  present.  But  each  one  thought  that  I  had  either 
heard  the  notice  myself,  or  would  be  told  by  someone  else. 
At  last,  on  Saturday  evening,  April  6th,  1878,  I  was  informed 
that  a  meeting  was  to  be  held  at  the  Council  House,  and  that 
my  presence  was  desired.  I  was  then  engaged  in  the  old  "Big 
Boot"  shoe  store  in  Salt  Lake;  and  I  dropped  my  work  and 
hastened  to  the  appointment,  reaching  the  Council  House  ju:t 
at  the  appointed  hour.  I  found  Brother  John  Van  Cott  there, 
and  asked  him  what  was  wanted  of  me. 

"Wanted  of  you?"  he  asked,  in  surprise. 

"Yes,  I  was  told  that  inquiry  had  been  made  for  me  in  two 
or  three  meetings,  and  that  I  was  wanted  here  to-night." 

"Oh,  are  you  the  man?  We  have  been  hunting  for 
you  for  a  week.  I  have  known  you  for  years,  but  I  had  for- 
gotten entirely  who  you  were.  We  want  to  know  if  you  are 
willing  to  take  a  mission.  Are  you?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

At  that  moment  Uncle  Joseph  Young  came  in ;  and  Brother 
Van  Cott  turned  to  him  and  said : 


42  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

1 'Uncle  Joseph,  here's  the  man  we've  been  looking  for  so 
long." 

After  President  Joseph  had  looked  at  me  for  a  moment,  he  said: 

4  'Young  man,  we  want  to  know  if  you  are  willing  to  take  a 
nrssion.  If  you  have  any  excuses  to  make,  though,  you  may 
take  them  to  the  President's  office." 

I  replied,  ''Brother  Young,  I  have  no  excuses  to  make.  I 
will  endeavor  to  go  whenever  I  am  wanted. ' ' 

I  have  since  been  led  to  marvel,  and  to  thank  my  Heavenly 
Father,  that  the  authorities  did  not  drop  my  name  from  the 
list  of  missionaries  at  that  time,  instead  of  persisting  in  the 
seirch  for  me.  No  doubt  it  has  shaped  my  life,  and  given  me 
a  blessing. which  will  endure  beyond  this  mortality. 

I  could  not  be  present  in  the  Tabernacle  on  the  following 
Monday  when  the  call  was  made,  and  therefore  did  not  know 
to  what  mission  I  was  assigned,  until  some  over-zealous  friends 
rushed  into  the  place  where  I  was  employed,  and  informed 
me  that  I  was  called  to  Australasia,  and  offered  me  their 
sympathy. 

Daring  the  remainder  of  the  week  I  was  the  recipient  of 
innumerable  condolences.  One  brother  said  to  me: 

"That  is  the  hardest  mission  in  the  world.  No  Elders  are 
there  now,  and  some  of  the  men  who  were  last  called  to  labor 
in  that  field— educated  and  experienced  preachers— returned 
in  ten  months  utterly  discouraged,  and  reported  that  no  satis- 
factory result  could  be  accomplished  in  that  region." 

Another  brother  said : 

"I  would  rather  be  called  to  go  into  Montana  and  preach  to 
the  miners. ' ' 

Another  said: 

"As  good  a  Mormon  as  I  am,  I  would  rather  go  to  Purgatory 
and  preach  to  the  spirits  in  prison  there  than  to  take  your  mis- 
sion, Thomas." 

And  finally  another  one  (who  has  since  suffered  martyrdom 
in  the  penitentiary) — a  prominent  business  man  of  Salt  Lake, 
by  the  way — said : 

"The  kind  of  missionary  needed  in  that  land  is  a  man  like 
Orson  Pratt;"  implying  very  strongly  that  inexperienced  per- 


FINDING  COMFORT.  43 

sons  like  myself  might  better  stay  at  home  than  to  make  a  use- 
less attempt  to  convert  the  cold  and  skeptical  people  in  Aus- 
tralia and  New  Zealand  to  a  knowledge  of  the  gospel. 

While  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  endeavor,  by  the  help  of 
the  Lord,  to  perform  my  duty;  remarks  of  this  kind  could  not 
help  but  make  me  despondent.  I  had  been  very  much  sur- 
prised, and  somewhat  shocked,  I  will  confess,  when  the 
announcement  was  made  to  me  of  the  nature  of  my  mission ; 
and  these  injudicious  condolences  intensified  my  self- distrust, 
and  made  me  feel  as  if  my  trip  would  be  anything  but  pleas- 
ant to  myself  and  advantageous  to  the  cause.  But  happily 
all  my  friends  were  not  of  this  class.  After  a  few  days,  and 
when  I  was  beginning  to  feel  considerably  cast  down,  Elder 
John  Van  Cott  met  me,  and  said: 

"Thomas,  I  hear  that  you  have  been  having  some  of  Job's 
friends  to  comfort  you.  Never  mind,  my  boy ;  go  and  fill  your 
mission,  and  you  will  be  blessed  in  your  labor.  When  I  was 
called  to  go  to  Scandinavia  I  and  others  felt  that  it  would  be  a 
hard  mission  ft  r  me— if  not  a  useless  one.  But  the  Lord  has 
wrought  it  into  a  ble  sing  for  me ;  becausa  I  can  travel  through 
the  length  and  breadth  of  this  Territory,  and  in  every  settle- 
ment I  can  find  a  friend." 

Within  a  week  after  the  time  we  were  called,  Brother  May 
and  myself  went  to  the  Council  House  to  be  set  apart  for  our 
labor.  Fifty- two  Elders,  I  think,  were  there  the  same  day  to 
obtain  their  blessing.  We  were  among  the  last.  In  fact  all 
the  others  had  received  their  ordination  and  had  gone  before 
any  attention  was  paid  to  us.  Apostles  Charles  C.  Rich, 
Orson  Pratt  and  Lorenzo  Snow  were  there  attending  to  this 
labor :  and  when  the  last  of  the  other  missionaries  had  departed, 
Brother  Rich  turned  to  me  and  said : 

"Well,  Thomas,  you  are  going  to  quit  selling  shoes,  and 
going  to  preach  the  gospel,  are  you?" 

I  answered,  "Yes,  sir;  I  shall  try." 

They  enquired  unto  what  mission  we  were  called ;  and  learn- 
ing that  we  were  going  to  distant  and  abandoned  Australasia, 
they  all  expressed  great  interest  in  our  welfare,  and  they  sat 
down  with  us  and  talked  very  kindly  for  some  little  time. 


44  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

I  had  watched  the  blessings  of  the  other  missionaries,  and 
had  noticed  that  the  Apostles  each  took  his  turn  in  ordaining 
the  young  Elders  to  their  calling.  I  was  acquainted  with 
Apostles  Rich  and  Pratt,  but  not  with  Apostle  Snow ;  and  I 
earnestly  desired  that  one  of  the  two  former  should  bless  me. 
So  I  had  located  myself  in  the  position  where  I  thought 
Brother  Rich  would  reach  me  in  his  turn.  However,  their 
visit  with  us  had  disarranged  their  plan ;  and  when  the  con- 
versation was  ended  one  of  them  enquired : 

"Whose  turn  is  it  to  ordain  this  Elder?" 

The  result  was  that  Brother  Snow  was  called  upon  to  ordain 
me.  At  the  moment  I  was  disappointed;  for  I  realized  how 
grave  a  responsibility  I  was  going  forth  to  meet,  and  I  fancied 
I  could  gain  greater  strength  and  blessing  under  the  hands  of 
one  of  the  Apostles  with  whom  I  had  been  acquainted  for 
years,  than  under  the  hands  of  a  stranger.  But  the  result 
banished  that  disappointment.  Brother  Snow  sensed  our 
peculiar  situation,  and  he  blessed  me  with  a  power  and  spirit 
which  thrilled  my  whole  being.  Before  he  had  concluded  his 
words  the  tears  were  coursing  down  my  cheeks  like  rain.  As  if 
the  words  were  uttered  yesterday,  I  remember  some  promises 
which  he  made  to  me: 

"From  the  moment  that  you  leave  these  valleys  until  you 
return,  the  angels  of  the  Almighty  shall  be  with  you.  When 
you  travel  by  land  or  by  sea,  though  dangers  may  beset  you 
on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,  the  power  of  the  Almighty 
shall  protect  you.  Though  death  may  stare  you  in  the  face, 
the  angels  of  the  Lord  will  warn  you  and  shield  you.  Though 
the  enemies  of  the  truth  may  plot  against  you,  their  evil 
designs  shall  be  made  known  to  you  by  the  angels  of  the  Lord, 
and  if  you  heed  their  warning  you  shall  be  protected.  When  even 
your  brethren  shall  desert  you  and  turn  against  you,  and  your 
way  shall  seem  to  be  hedged  up,  you  will  find  a  blessing  given 
you  from  the  Lord,  for  He  will  be  your  friend.  And  you  will 
see  the  day  when  you  will  have  no  friend  with  the  power  to 
aid  you,  other  than  your  Heavenly  Father,  in  all  the  land 
where  you  are  sojourning.  But  we  promise  you  that  because 
of  your  faith  you  shall  be  brought  triumphant  through  these 


PIN  DING  COMFORT.  45 

tribulations,  and  shall  be  brought  to  your  home  again  in  safety 
and  with  the  approbation  of  the  Priesthood  and  the  blessing 
of  the  Almighty.  And  you  shall  live  to  see  the  day  when 
your  labors  in  that  far-off  land  will  bear  good  fruit." 

Every  word  of  that  prophetic  blessing  has  been  fulfilled  in 
a  most  wonderful  manner.  I  believe  that  the  Lord  put  these 
things  into  Brother  Snow's  mind,  and  that  He  gave  me  these 
promises  to  comfort  and  sustain  me;  and  that  in  the  little  dis- 
appoinment  which  I  felt  at  not  receiving  my  blessing  under 
the  hands  of  Apostle  Rich  or  Apostle  Pratt,  the  Lord  had 
really  His  own  wise  purpose  to  accomplish. 

A  week  previous  to  the  date  fixed  for  our  departure  we  were 
at  President  Taylor's  office  to  learn  if  he  had  any  special 
instruction  for  us.  We  hoped  and  expected  that  he  would 
outline  our  work  or  that  we  might  have  some  particular  rule 
of  guidance  in  that  distant  and  lonely  land.  But  the  Presi- 
dent's only  word  was: 

"Yes,  brethren,  we  want  you  to  go  to  Australasia,  and 
build  up  the  Kingdom  of  God  there." 

Three  times  we  asked  our  question: 

"Are  there  any  special  instructions  for  us?" 

And  three  times  we  received  the  answer  in  the  President's 
well-known  impressive  manner: 

"Yes,  brethren,  we  want  you  to  go  to  Australasia,  and  build 
up  the  Kingdom  of  God  there." 

Elder  May  looked  at  him  with  amazement  in  his  eyes;  and 
certainly  if  my  face  indicated  my  feeling,  it  betrayed  the 
utmost  surprise. 

Was  this  all?  President  Taylor  was  the  Prophet  of  God  on 
earth;  and  we  were  inexperienced  Elders  going  to  a  land 
nearly  ten  thousand  miles  away  from  home,  to  labor  in  a  mis- 
sion which  had  been  abandoned  by  older  and  more  learned  men 
than  we  were.  Naturally,  we  expected  to  hear  what  we  must 
do  when  we  reached  Australia;  how  we  must  live;  how 
approach  the  people;  and  how  apportion  our  time  to  the  var- 
ious districts  of  that  vast  field. 

And  yet  our  interview  was  ended.  President  Taylor's  man- 
ner and  words— though  very  kind,  and  even  fatherly,  were 


46  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

decisive;  and  we  withdrew  in  some  disappointment.  When 
we  got  out  on  the  street  we  looked  at  each  other  in  a  most 
woe  begone  manner.  1  do  not  know  when  I  felt  more  forlorn 
or  helpless  than  at  that  hour. 

But  we  lived  anl  learned  to  bless  that  significant  sentence, 
which  President  Taylor  uttered  in  his  wisdom,  and  by  the 
inspiration  of  the  Spirit.  It  became  to  us  better,  far  better, 
than  a  book  full  of  the  "special  instructions"  which  we  had 
coveted.  Whenever  we  were  discouraged,  or  torn  by  doubt, 
or  oppressed  by  fear;  we  had  our  guide: 

' 'Build  up  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  those  lands!" 

And  prayer  to  God  invariably  showed  us  the  right  means  to 
reach  that  result.  If  we  had  been  dependent  upon  a  certain 
method  of  gospel  presentation,  and  less  dependent  upon  our 
Heavenly  Father,  I  am  sure  that  we  would  not  have  been  so 
greatly  blessed  as  we  were  in  our  labors. 

We  left  Zion  on  Tuesday,  May  7th,  1878;  and  sailed  from 
San  Francisco  on  Monday,  May  13th,  1878,  on  the  steamer, 
City  of  Sydney.  We  took  steerage  passage,  and  found  our- 
selves in  a  motley  crowd.  There  were  about  fifty  white  passen- 
gers and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  Chinamen  in  this  part 
of  the  ship,  and  we  had  a  perfect  Babel.  The  Chinamen 
kept  up  their  own  interminable  chattering.  And  among  the 
whites  were  Welshmen,  Irishmen,  Scotchmen,  Jew,  Gentile, 
Infidel:  representatives  of  every  race  and  of  every  sect.  We 
even  had  a  dynamiter  on  board — a  person  who  claimed  friend- 
ship with  the  notorious  O'Donovan  Rossa  of  New  York. 

The  first  port  we  made  was  Honolulu;  where  we  met  Elder 
Henry  P.  Richards,  of  Salt  Lake,  and  Elder  Woodbury,  of  St. 
George.  They  took  us  to  the  houses  of  the  Saints,  and  we 
had  a  dinner  of  poi  and  salt  fish,  "luxuries"  which  I  tried  my 
best  to  appreciate. 

On  Sunday,  June  2nd,  we  passed  Sunday  Island,  in  the 
South  Pacific.  That  night  we  retired  to  rest  about  ten  o'clock. 
After  eight  hours  sleep  we  arose— and  found  that  it  was  Tues- 
day morning  at  six  o'clock.  We  had  sailed  across  the  line  which 
marks  the  beginning  of  the  day,  and  had  lost  our  twenty-four 
hours.  I  greatly  regretted  this  loss  of  Monday,  and  never 


FINDING  COMFORT.  47 

felt  entirely  reconciled  to  it  during  the  two  years  that  I  was 
away.  Fortunately  for  my  peace  of  mind,  on  our  return  we 
made  two  Fridays  on  the  same  spot;  and  I  allowed  my  gain  of 
Friday  to  cancel  my  loss  of  Monday. 

We  entered  Auckland  harbor  on  Wednesday,  June  5th;  and 
sailed  into  Sydney  Bay  at  half  past  two  o'clock  on  Wednes- 
day morning  a  week  later. 

We  remained  in  the  lower  bay  during  quarantine  examina- 
tion; and  later  in  the  morning  the  City  of  Sidney  steamed  up 
to  the  central  quay,  arriving  at  her  birth  about  eleven  o'clock. 
Several  hundred  people  were  on  the  shore  awaiting  the  arri- 
val of  the  steamer.  They  were  all  complete  strangers  to  me, 
and  I  did  not  expect  anyone  to  meet  us.  But  I  saw  in  the 
crowd  one  man  whom  I  instantly  knew  to  be  a  member  of  the 
Church.  I  turned  to  point  him  out  to  Brother  May,  bat 
found  my  companion  absent.  However,  I  watched  this  man 
attentively,  feeling  certain  that  he  had  come  to  find  us,  and 
that  he  was  one  of  our  brethren.  The  event  proved  my  sup- 
position to  be  correct.  When  he  came  on  board  the  vessel  he 
asked  the  steward  for  two  passengers  by  the  name  of  May  and 
Shreeve.  As  soon  as  he  spoke  I  stepped  up  to  him  and  told 
him  that  I  was  one  of  the  persons  wanted.  We  shook  hands; 
and  I  found  him  to  be  Brother  J.  Nichols. 

We  went  to  his  house  in  Sydney,  and  were  very  kindly 
received.  During  the  next  several  days  we  were  engaged  in  a 
reorganization  of  the  branch,  which  had  become  somewhat 
demoralized  by  neglect  and  by  inattention  of  members. 

On  the  16th  day  of  July,  Elder  May  went  to  Melbourne;  and 
we  did  not  meet  again  for  more  than  two  years.  It  was  not  in 
our  original  plan  to  be  separated  for  so  long  a  time;  but  sub- 
sequent circumstances  made  that  lengthy  separation  apparently 
necessary.  When  we  looked  over  the  field  after  reorganizing 
the  Sydney  Branch  we  discovered  that  it  was  entirely  too  large 
for  us  to  cover  within  a  reasonable  time,  if  we  remained 
together;  and,  though  we  disliked  to  part  company,  we  felt 
that  by  taking  separate  fields  we  could  cover  twice  as  much 
ground  in  a  given  length  of  time  as  by  both  traveling  together. 
We  therefore  arranged  that  Brother  May  should  go  down  to 


48  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

Melbourne,  where  he  had  some  relatives,  and  thence  to  Tas- 
mania; while  I  should  remain  in  New  South  Wales  until  the 
following  December,  About  the  close  of  the  year  we  should 
both  go  to  New  Zealand  and  together  visit  the  branch  of  the 
Church  there,  and  endeavor  to  enlarge  the  work  in  that  local- 
ity. But  this  p  an,  for  good  reasons,  was  never  consummated 
entirely;  and  I  was  parted  from  the  companion  whom  1  had 
learned  to  love,  and  who  was  the  only  closa  friend  that  1  could 
hope  to  have  on  earth  in  that  Hemisphere — from  the  time  of  his 
departure  from  Sydney  until  the  hour  when  I  set  foot  on  the 
steamer's  deck  to  return  home. 


CHAPTER    II. 


L\BOR  WHICH  BROUGHT  LITTLE  COMPENSATION — A  MYS- 
TERIOUS CALL  TO  NEW  ZEALAND— ATTACKED  BY  AN 
EVIL  SPIRIT— THE  VISITATION  THRICE  REPEATED — 
MEETING  THE  BROTHER  OP  A  FRIEND— ON  BOARD  THE 
"WAKATIPU,"  BOUND  FOR  NEW  ZEALAND. 

1FELT  very  lonely  after  Brother  May's  departure.  The 
next  day,  feeling  extremely  despondent,  I  walked  out  to 
Bondi,  a  point  overlooking  the  great  ocean.  There  I  knelt 
down  among  the  rocks  and  prayed  most  fervently  to  the  Lord  for 
comfort  and  help  through  all  my  trials.  I  derived  such  con- 
solation from  the  communion  with  my  Heavenly  Father  that 
I  have  ever  since  felt  anxious  to  advise  my  younger  brethren 
who  go  on  missions,  to  frequently  seek  retired  spots  and  there 
offer  devotion  to  Grod  and  supplication  for  His  blessing. 

I  then  engaged  in  the  work  of  visiting  in  Sydney  and  i:s 
suburbs;  and  succeeded  in  finding  several  persons  who  had 
once,  been  members  of  the  Church.  It  was  our  hope  to 
reunite  these  persons  with  the  Church  and  get  them  to  renew 
their  covenants  and  prepare  sometime  for  emigration  to  Zion; 
but  the  majority  of  them  were  hardened.  The  people  of  New 
South  Wales  had  no  desire  to  hear  or  obey  the  gospel.  Many 


FINDING  COMFORT.  49 


of  those  who  had  once  had  membership  in  the  Church  had 
become  Josephites,  and  these  and  all  the  others  felt  that  they 
needed  no  rebaptism  at  our  hands,  for  they  were  quite  good 
enough  without. 

Although  I  labored  willingly,  and  even  anxiously,  in  this 
region,  I  never  felt  peaceful  and  contented  in  the  city  of  Syd- 
ney. The  very  hour  that  I  landed  there,  I  felt  a  weight  upon 
my  shoulders  as  if  something  were  pressing  me  to  the  earth. 
I  was  as  conscious  of  that  weight  as  if  it  had  really  been 
something  physically  tangible;  and  even  when  I  was  at  the 
house  of  Brother  Nichols,  where  we  received  very  kind  treat- 
ment, I  could  not  rid  myself  of  this  sensation.  It  was  only 
when  I  could  get  away  from  the  city  itself  that  I  could  feel  at 
all  light-hearted.  I  often  wondered  why  I  felt  so  ill  at  ease 
in  Sydney,  and  why  I  could  not  gain  greater  contentment  when 
visiting  with  the  family  of  Brother  Nichols  there;  but  this 
matter  was  later  solved  to  my  understanding,  if  not  to  my  sat- 
isfaction. 

Not  long  after  I  was  left  alone  I  had  a  strange  dream  con- 
cerning my  labors.  I  thought  that  I  was  called  to  take  a  mis- 
sion to  the  East.  The  idea  was  very  vivid  in  my  mind,  though 
no  steps  or  time  seemed  to  have  been  made  clear  to  me.  When 
I  awoke,  I  thought  upon  the  matter,  and  interpreted  it  as 
meaning  that,  after  my  return  to  Zion,  I  should  have  another 
mission — probably  to  Europe.  With  this  view  I  attempted  to 
dismiss  the  matter  from  my  mind;  but  I  found  the  effort  futile. 
The  idea  remained  persistently  with  me  for  three  or  four  days; 
and  then  one  afternoon  when  I  took  up  a  book  and  sought  to 
read,  suddenly  the  printed  lines  were  blurred  from  me,  and 
these  words  started  out  from  the  page : 

"You  must  go  to  New  Zealand." 

I  rubbed  my  eyes,  astonished,  and  looked  again.  The  words 
had  disappeared,  and  for  a  few  moments  I  was  able  to  read 
the  book.  But  again  these  words  came  upon  the  page,  shut- 
ting out  the  printed  lines  from  my  sight: 

"You  are  wanted  in  New  Zealand." 

This  strange  thing  was  repeated  again  and  again.  But  I 
did  not  permit  myself  to  accept  it  as  a  requirement;  because  I 


HELPFUL  VISIONS. 


remembered  the  definite  understanding  which  I  had  made 
with  Brother  May  concerning  my  labors  in  New  South  Wales, 
and  the  date  of  our  mutual  journey  to  New  Zealand  in  Decem- 
ber or  January  following.  I  dropped  the  book  for  a  time,  and 
then  picked  it  up  again.  The  strange  appearance  of  this  com- 
mand was  repeated.  Not  only  on  this  day  and  with  this  book 
did  I  experience  this  wondrous  manifestation;  but  day  after 
day  with  any  book  or  newspaper  which  I  attempted  to  read, 
was  the  apuearance  repeated.  Not  understanding  that  this 
was  a  command  to  me  which  I  ought  to  obey;  and  feeling  in  a 
measure  bound  by  my  agreement  with  my  companion,  I  could 
cof^  despite  all  these  repeated  insf  ructions,  bring  myself  to  a 
compliance  with  it.  But  soon  the  warning  took  another  and  a 
stronger  form,  and  hastened  my  departure,  while  explaining  to 
me  the  strange  weight  which  I  had  felt  upon  me  in  Sydney. 

One  day  I  went  to  Ashfield,  one  of  the  environs  of  Sydney, 
to  visit  Brother  William  Armstrong,  who  resided  there  with 
his  family.  I  returned  in  the  afternoon,  feeling  somewhat 
weary,  and  lay  down  upon  a  lounge  in  the  front  room  of 
Brother  Nichols'  house.  His  wife  was  gossiping  with  a  neigh- 
bor in  her  jocular  Irish  way,  and  I  felt  somewhat  amused  in 
listening  to  her. 

Suddenly  I  felt  myself  borne  down  by  a  strange  and  awful 
power.  It  weighed  upon  my  bosom  and  seemed  to  be  crushing 
me,  while  it  pressed  also  upon  my  mouth  and  threw  my  head 
over  the  top  of  the  lounge.  The  pressure  upon  my  face  was 
as  distinct  as  if  it  had  been  made  by  a  sinewy  hand  pressing  a  cloth 
tightly  over  my  mouth  and  nose.  In  the  first  excitement  my 
heart  beat  very  rapidly,  and  then  stopped,  motionless.  I 
struggled  to  release  myself,  even  reaching  out  with  one  hand 
and  seizing  the  edge  of  the  lounge,  intending  to  draw  myself 
down  to  the  floor.  Every  effort  was  unavailing,  and  it  seemed 
to  me  that  I  was  losing  myself  and  must  soon  die,  if  I  could 
not  obtain  relief.  Then  the  thought  came  to  me  to  pray,  and 
I  cried  in  my  inmost  soul  : 

"Oh,  Lord!  help  me!" 

No  sooner  had  this  petition  passed  in  thought  through  my 
mind  than  I  was  instantly  released.  I  sprang  to  my  feet, 


FINDING  COMFORT.  61 

trembling  with  fear  and  suffering,  but  I  made  no  cry  and  gave 
no  explanation  to  those  who  were  present. 

The  sensation  which  I  experienced  at  the  time  I  was  in  the 
grasp  of  this  power  was  as  distinctly  painful  as  any  physical 
suffering  I  ever  endured,  and  more  intense  than  any  ordinary 
physical  pain  can  be.  I  wondered  at  it,  as  I  had  not  been 
subject  to  such  attacks;  I  even  bit  my  finger  to  see  if  I  were 
really  awake,  thinking  that  possibly  I  might  be  in  a  dream. 
But  I  found  it  all  too  real.  Searching  my  mind  for  some  explan- 
ation, I  concluded  that  as  I  had  returned  to  the  house  hungry 
and  worried,  I  had  possibly  taken  too  much  dinner.  And 
with  this  unsatisfactory  explanation  I  forced  myself  to  be 
content  for  the  time. 

A  few  days  later  I  determined  to  fast;  and  in  the  course  of 
the  day  I  went  to  the  Botanical  Gardens.  Upon  my  return, 
feeling  somewhat  faint  and  tired,  I  again  lay  down  upon  the 
couch.  In  a  few  minutes  the  awful  influence  once  more  seized 
me — this  time  with  even  greater  power  than  before.  I  was 
affrighted  and  helpless.  In  the  midst  of  my  dreadful  physical 
pain  and  mental  torture  came  the  realization  that  I  was  in  the 
grasp  of  an  evil  spirit.  This  sudden  knowledge  intensified  my 
torture.  For  some  seconds— it  seemed  to  me  an  age,  my 
heart  stood  still.  I  felt  myself  slipping  away,  but  could  not 
move  nor  cry  aloud.  Once  more  the  inspiration  came  to  me 
to  pray,  and  I  called  upon  my  Heavenly  Father  for  help.  At 
once  the  influence  departed,  and  I  sprang  to  my  feet  weak 
and  trembling.  I  felt  every  hair  on  my  head  standing 
upright. 

I  recalled  the  description  given  by  Joseph  Smith  of  the 
darkness  which  enveloped  him  when  he  first  prayed  in  the 
woods  for  light;  and  I  knew  that  I  had  experienced  in  some 
slight  degree  the  same  torment  which  he  encountered  on  that 
occasion.  I  remembered  that  the  Prophet  spoke  of  giving  up 
under  the  torture  that  he  was  suffering,  and  of  his  being 
saved  by  the  power  of  God  just  at  the  moment  when  he  felt 
himself  slipping  away  into  death  and  perdition.  This,  though 
undoubtedly  in  a  greatly  moderated  degree,  was  my  own 
experience. 


62  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

After  this  the  feeling  that  I  must  go  to  New  Zealand  was  borne 
irresistibly.  The  last  emphatic  warning  had  shown  me  that 
Sydney  was  no  place  for  me  at  this  hour,  and  that  I  must  heed 
the  commandments  which  were  given  to  me.  Accordingly,  I 
purchased  a  ticket  for  Port  Littleton,  distant  about  twelve 
hundred  miles  from  Sydney. 

The  steamer  by  which  I  was  to  sail  would  not  leave  for  a 
week,  but  I  could  not  rest  easy  until  I  had  secured  my  passage. 
The  vessel  was  called  the  Wakatipu,  from  two  Maori  words, 
waka,  meaning  canoe,  and  tipu,  meaning  goods;  the  union 
signifying  a  canoe  or  ship  to  carry  goods. 

After  purchasing  this  ticket  the  feeling  of  anxiety  and  unrest 
which  had  possessed  me  departed,  and  I  felt  quite  content  in 
the  full  consciousness  that  I  was  now  in  the  line  of  my  duty; 
but  I  still  had  a  dread  of  the  evil  influences  which  I  now  knew 
abounded  in  Sydney  and  inhabited  the  house  at  which  1  was 
staying. 

When  now  I  took  up  a  book  or  a  newspaper  I  could  see  the 
words  as  distinctly  as  ever,  and  was  no  more  visited  by  the 
commandment  which  had  been  so  manifest  on  other  occasions. 

The  couch  on  which  I  had  lain  when  seized  by  these  dark 
powers  was  my  own  bed  at  night,  and  I  had  not  been  troubled 
in  the  evening.  But  from  the  hour  of  the  second  seizure  I 
religiously  avoided  sitting  or  reclining  upon  the  lounge  in  the 
day-time.  I  had  a  strong  hoiror  of  sleeping  upon  this  couch 
at  night,  bit  I  had  no  alternative;  and  solaced  myself  by  con- 
stant prayer  and  humility  before  the  Lord,  asking  to  be  pro- 
tected from  the  assaults  of  the  adversary. 

Previous  to  taking  my  departure  for  New  Zealand  I  went 
out  to  Ashfield  to  bid  Brother  Armstrong  and  his  family  fare- 
well. Again  I  returned  late  in  the  evening.  I  thoughtlessly 
threw  myself  upon  the  couch,  and  almost  in  the  very  second  I 
was  seized  by  the  destroyer.  The  experience  was  the  same  as 
on  the  other  occasions,  except  that  it  was  much  more  power- 
ful and  painful.  I  believed  for  a  moment  that  I  must  die;  but 
once  more  I  was  restored  by  my  prayer  to  heaven.  The  sen- 
sations I  suffered  in  these  seizures  I  never  can  forget.  To 
speak  of  them  even  at  this  hour  causes  a  chill  of  horror  4o 


FINDING  COMFORT. 


pass  over  my  being,  and  as  a  rule  I  feel  a  dreadful  pain  attack- 
ing my  heart. 

I  did  not  speak  of  these  experiences  to  anyone  in  Sydney, 
nor  to  anyone  else  for  a  long  time.  I  was  inexperienced  in 
these  matters,  and  I  thought  it  wise  to  keep  my  own  counsel. 
But  nearly  a  year  afterward  I  received  a  letter  from  Brother 
May,  who  had  returned  to  Sydney  and  had  stopped  at  the 
house  of  Brother  Nichols,  while  I  was  in  New  Zealand.  He 
had  occupied  as  a  bed  the  couch  whereon  I  had  slept;  and  he 
informed  me  that  he  had  been  seized  by  evil  spirits  in  the 
night,  dragged  from  his  bed,  and  tortured.  After  this  rein- 
forcement of  my  own  views  I  wrote  to  Brother  May,  informing 
him  of  what  had  occurred  at  the  house  on  three  separate 
occasions  when  I  was  lying  upon  that  couch.  I  felt  then  that 
not  only  was  the  city  of  Sydney  an  oppressive  place  for  the 
Elders,  but  that  the  house  where  we  had  stopped,  though 
occupied  by  a  man  who  professed  the  faith,  offered  a  welcome 
to  evil  influences.  Such  an  opinion  was  substantiated  later 
when  Nichols  and  his  wife  turned  Brother  May  out  of  the 
house,  and  then  apostatized  and  joined  the  Joscphites. 

Although  they  had  treated  me  very  kindly  I  always  felt 
under  a  restraint  when  1  was  on  their  premises;  and  the  event 
showed  that  they  preferred  association  with  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness to  the  friendship  and  company  of  the  Elders  of  the 
Church. 

Mrs.  Nichols  and  her  eldest  son  are  dead;  and  the  man,  if 
alive,  leads  what  I  imagine  must  be  a  lonely  and  unsatisfactory 
life.  I  am  convinced  that  he  knows  the  gospel  to  be  true;  for 
I  have  had  proof  that  he  possesses  this  knowledge.  Realizing 
this,  I  imagine  that  his  mind  must  be  in  a  dreadful  state  of 
remorse  and  anxiety; 

The  day  before  I  was  to  take  the  steamer  Wakatipu  I  went 
to  the  post  office  at  Sydney  to  mail  some  letters.  While  stand- 
ing at  the  stamp  window  a  man  walked  quickly  up  through 
the  crowd,  thrust  a  paper  under  my  face  into  the  window,  and 
cried: 

uForeign  stamp — quick,  please!" 


51  HELPFUL 


He  laid  the  paper  down,  and  I  saw  the  address  upon  it.  To 
my  amazement  it  was: 

"JOHN  ALFORD, 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah  Territory,  U.  S.  A." 

I  looked  at  the  gentleman  and  said:  — 

"I  beg  pardon,  sir;  but  do  you  know  the  gentleman  to  whom 
you  are  sending  this  paper?" 

"Yes,  sir.     My  brother,  sir.    Do  you  know  him?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Meet  me  here  at  twelve  o'clock." 

And  with  these  words  he  was  gone  like  a  flash. 

It  was  then  eleven  o'clock  and  I  had  an  hour  to  wait.  I 
strolled  around  for  a  short  time,  and  pronfptly  at  twelve  o'clock 
I  was  on  the  veranda  of  the  post  office,  awaiting  the  coming 
of  the  very  abrupt  gentleman.  On  the  stroke  of  the  hour  he 
dodged  between  the  pillars  of  the  veranda,  rushed  through 
the  crowd,  and  beckoned  me  to  him.  Then  he  started  at  a 
rapid  rate  down  the  street,  and  I  followed.  After  going  a 
short  distance  he  turned  and  asked  me: 

"Had  your  dinner?" 

"No,  sir." 

"Come  along,  then." 

We  entered  the  Free  Mason  Hotel,  the  dining  room  of  which 
was  crowded.  Seating  ourselves  at  a  table  he  gave  his  order 
for  a  beefsteak;  and  I  was  too  good  a  Britisher  to  refuse  the 
same. 

While  we  were  waiting,  he  asked  if  I  were  acquainted  with 
his  brother.  I  answered  that  I  was,  having  worked  tor  the 
same  institution  which  employed  him,  for  a  number  of  years. 

At  his  request  I  gave  him  such  information  as  I  possessed 
about  Brother  John  Alford  and  his  family,  and  by  this  time 
the  steaks  were  ready,  and  he  proceeded  to  eat  his  hurriedly. 

I  saw  there  was  no  time  for  talking,  uniess  I  wished  to  lose 
my  dinner,  so  I  plied  knife  and  fork  vigorously.  When  we 
were  through  he  paid  the  charge,  and  we  walked  out. 

Then  he  asked  how  long  I  had  been  in  Australia.  I 
answered: 

"About  two  months." 


FINDING  COMFORT.  55 

"How  long  shall  you  stay?" 

"Until  to-morrow  at  one  o'clock,  when  I  leave  for  New 
Zealand  by  the  steamer  Wakatipu. ' ' 

"Are  you  a  Mormon  Elder?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Do  you  travel  like  my  brother  did  when  he  was  preaching 
in  England  what  you  folks  call  the  gospel — without  purse  or 
scrip?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"It  is  a  very  strange  faith  you  people  have.  He  never  did 
any  work  while  he  was  in  England  preaching,  but  he  could  go 
anywhere  he  wanted  to  go — while  I,  who  was  always  working, 
never  had  either  time  or  money  to  go  anywhere.  Curious, 
isn't  it?" 

"Yes,  sir— our  faith  is  a  strange  one  to  the  world.  But  we 
are  placed  in  such  a  position  that  we  have  learned  to  rely  upon 
God,  our  Eternal  Father,  whose  gospel  we  are  preaching.  We 
know  that  while  we  are  executing  His  commands,  He  will  pro- 
vide the  means." 

Mr.  Alford  shook  his  head  incredulously,  ani  muttered: 

"Queer  faith—strange  faith. — I  can't  see  it.  I  am  busy 
now.  Come  to-morrow  at  twelve  o'clock.  I  will  meet  you  at 
the  post  office.  I  want  to  see  you. " 

I  replied : 

"I  must  leave  at  one  o'clock.  I  will  scarcely  have  time  to 
meet  you." 

"Nonsense!  Come.  That  steamer  won't  sail  before  four 
or  five  o'clock." 

Promptly  at  the  appointed  time  the  next  day  I  was  at  the 
post  office,  and  again  met  Mr.  Alford.  He  shook  me  warmly 
by  the  hand  and  said: 

"I  expect,  young  man,  you  haven't  got  very  much  money." 

"You  are  right,"  I  answered. 

In  purchasing  my  ticket  to  Littleton  I  had  expended  my 
last  shilling.  My  destination  was  the  town  of  Rangiora,  some 
distance  from  Port  Littleton,  and  I  needed  means  to  pay  my 
fare  to  that  place. 


56  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

Mr,  Alford  pressed  ten  shillings  in  my  hand,  at  the  same 
time  saying : 

"I  do  not  understand  how  you  folks  can  travel  without 
purse  or  scrip. ' ' 

I  could  have  explained  to  him  how  his  ten  shillings  had 
relieved  me,  and  enabled  me  to  fulfill  the  commands  of  my 
Master;  but  I  saw  that  he  was  a  business  man — skeptical  and 
unapproachable  to  the  message  which  I  was  bearing  to  the 
world,  and  I  made  no  attempt  to  encroach  fuither  upon  his 
time. 

I  went  on  board  the  vessel  during  the  afternoon,  and  felt 
that  I  was  obeying  the  sacred  behest  which  had  been  so  often 
and  so  mysteriously  repeated  to  me  in  Sydney.  But  the 
adversary  seemed  determined  to  cling  to  me  and  to  fill  my 
mind  with  evil  thoughts.  I  tried  to  banish  sadness  by  gazing 
from  the  deck  of  the  moving  vessel  at  the  beautiful  city  of 
Sydney  and  the  still  more  beautiful  bay.  But  the  effort  was 
vain;  my  prevailing  emotion  was  one  of  despondency.  The 
ship,  the  receding  lands,  the  sea  into  which  we  were  passing 
— all  seemed  so  vast;  and  I  seemed  such  a  lonely  mite,  that  I 
could  not  find  comfort  in  that  hour. 

Gradually,  as  the  night  came  on,  the  shores  grew  indistinct. 
Only  a  myriad  of  lights  twinkled  out  to  show  where  the  city 
lay.  From  vessels  riding  at  anchor  or  moving  up  the  bay  to 
moor  after  their  long  voyages,  came  shouts  of  masters  and 
songs  of  men.  The  azure  depths  of  sky  and  sea  held  each  its 
countless  stars.  But  the  beauty  of  the  scene  only  made  me 
more  impressionable  to  melancholy;  and  I  took  one  long  fare- 
well look  at  the  light-dotted  city  and  the  light-dotted  bay — 
lovely  beyond  description — and  then  went  below. 

I  have  never  seen  Sydney  since  that  lonely  hour. 


FINDING  COMFOttf.  57 


CHAPTER    IV. 


AN  IRREVERENT  COMPANY  OP  PASSENGERS— SICKNESS  AND 
A  HORROR  OF  LIFE  FALL  UPON  ME — A  "HELPFUL 
VISION"— "ONLY  BE  TRUE"— IN  YOKING  THE  NAME  OF 
CHRIST — A  JOLLY  SINGER  AND  A  JOLLY  SONG— LAND- 
ING AT  PORT  LITTLETON— STRANGE  RECOGNITION  OF 
BROTHER  NORDSTRAND— His  DREAM  CONCERNING  ME. 

ON  board  the  Wakatipu  was  a  large  company  of  worldly 
people,  representing  nearly  all  professions  and  stations  in 
life.  The  majority  of  the  people  were  extremely  sociable,  and 
very  soon  after  we  got  out  into  the  open  water  a  number  of 
passengers  gathered  in  the  cabin  with  musical  instruments,  to 
while  away  an  hour  and  to  banish  sadness.  They  made  a  great 
medley  of  their  pleasures;  and  some  of  them  were  decidedly 
irreverent.  A  portion  of  the  party  wished  to  dance,  and  the 
man  who  supplied  the  music  claimed  to  know  but  one  tune. 
This  was: 

"Sweeping  through  the  gates  of  the  New  Jerusalem, 
Washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb." 

And  to  this  very  strange  "schottische"  some  of  them 
danced  a  merry-go-round. 

Notwithstanding  the  gaiety  on  board,  the  feeling  of  dread 
grew  upon  me.  It  seemed  to  possess  my  very  soul.  Probably 
I  had  given  way  too  much  to  sadness  in  gazing  upon  the  dis- 
tant lights  of  Sidney,  and  now  I  could  not  banish  the  evil 
thoughts  which  thronged  my  mind. 

All  manner  of  gloomy  forebodings  oppressed  me.  While 
I  remained  in  Sydney,  I  felt  that  there  was  some  tie  between 
myself  and  my  companion;  but  now  I  felt  that  I  had  cut 
myself  adrift  even  from  him. 


68  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

This  was  the  first  time  in  my  life  that  ever  I  felt  how  com- 
pletely alone  a  man  can  be  when  surrounded  by  joyous  com- 
pany. I  tried  to  think  of  comfort  and  companionship  at  the 
end  of  my  voyage;  but  the  reflection  proved  to  be  an  unfor- 
tunate one,  because  I  knew  no  soul  in  all  New  Zealand.  Death 
must  actually  be  something  to  dread  for  any  person  to  whom 
it  will  bring  the  appalling  loneliness  which  possessed  me  at 
this  hour. 

I  retired  to  my  berth,  as  you  may  imagine,  in  no  pleasant 
frame  of  mind.  The  next  morning,  Friday,  I  awoke  and  found 
myself  in  a  racing  fever.  I  was  not  sea-sick,  and,  though  1 
am  subject  to  this  trouble,  during  this  entire  voyage  I  felt  no 
touch  of  it.  The  fever  increased  during  the  day,  until  it 
seemed  as  if  my  whole  body .  were  being  consumed  in  a  fur- 
nace. 

No  one  came  to  enquire  for  me,  or  to  offer  aid;  for  I  was 
not  only  a  total  stranger,  but  a  steerage  passenger — two  things 
which,  united,  shut  me  out  from  help  or  sympathy.  On  Saturday 
morning  I  was  worse.  My  tongue  was  swollen  until  it  filled 
my  mouth;  it  was  as  dry  as  a  piece  of  tinder.  With  the 
intense  heat  of  my  body  my  teeth  crumbled  at  a  touch. 

On  Sunday  morning  I  was  worse;  though  probably  the  fever 
had  cot  increased  in  intensity,  because  it  could  not;  but  I  was 
very  much  weaker.  That  afternoon  a  passenger  came  to  the 
berth,  and  offered  me  a  glass  of  water.  I  took  it  gratefully; 
and  this  was  the  sole  attention  I  received  during  four  days. 

Naturally  I  felt  dispirited.  I  had  not  even  the  advantage 
of  delirium,  which  accompanies  most  serious  fevers;  I  was 
constantly  awake  to  the  full  appreciation  of  the  torture  which 
my  mind  and  body  were  enduring.  Tempted  by  the  destroyer, 
I  felt  that  death  would  have  been  a  welcome  release  from  my 
pain.  The  horror  was  almost  unbearable. 

On  Sunday  night,  the  entire  company  of  passengers,  with 
the  exception  of  myself,  gathered  in  the  main  cabin,  upon 
invitation  of  a  jolly  doctor,  who  held  what  he  called: 

"A  Saturday  Night  at  Sea." 

To  every  person  who  could  sing  or  make  a  speech,  some 
part  was  assigned  for  the  general  amusement.  From  my  berth 


FINDING  COMFORT.  59 

in  the  steerage— by  drawing  away  the  curtains,  1  could  look 
out  upon  the  festive  scene,  in  which  I  could  bear  no  part,  for 
I  was  helpless  and  speechless. 

The  doctor  had  been  a  surgeon  in  the  hospitals  of  England, 
and  also  in  the  Crimean  War,  and  he  opened  the  entertain- 
ment by  a  lecture  upon  the  strange  experiences  of  a  British 
army  surgeon  and  hospital  physician.  While  he  was  talking 
upon  this  suggestive  subject,  my  mind  was  led  to  a  contempla- 
tion of  death.  I  felt  with  a  kind  of  listlessness  that  I  would 
soon  be  beyond  the  reach  of  earthly  physicians,  unless  some- 
thing could  speedily  be  done  for  my  relief. 

After  a  severe  struggle  I  so  far  overcame  the  dreadful  feel- 
ing with  which  the  adversary  had  filled  my  heart  that  I  was 
able  to  call  upon  the  Lord  in  prayer.  As  I  silently  com- 
muned with  Him,  I  gained  power;  my  faith  was  restored,  and 
my  hope  for  life  was  quickened. 

I  asked  Him  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  be  merciful 
unto  me;  I  felt  then  at  perfect  liberty  to  speak  to  Him  as  a 
eon  would  talk  with  a  good  earthly  father.  I  said  that  I  had 
come  into  this  distant  region — not  to  fulfil  my  own  worldly 
wish,  but  at  the  behest  of  His  servants,  to  proclaim  His  gos- 
pel, and  to  build  up  His  Kingdom.  My  companion  was  hun- 
dreds of  miles  distant  from  me,  and  I  was  beyond  the  reach 
of  earthly  help  or  earthly  sympathy.  It  was  my  earnest 
desire  to  be  restored  to  life,  that  I  might  fulfil  the  mission  to 
which  I  had  been  assigned  by  His  representatives  on  earth; 
and  to  this  end  I  asked  that  some  aid  might  be  given  me  to 
rebuke  the  devil,  and  to  banish  the  horrors  which  I  felt  would 
soon,  if  allowed  to  work  their  way,  bring  dissolution. 

When  my  prayer  was  ended,  I  heard  the  doctor  still  talking; 
but  under  the  sound  of  his  voice  I  fell  asleep. 

I  dreamed  that  I  was  back  in  Sydney,  sick  in  bed.  Brother 
May  was  at  a  table  in  the  room,  and  we  were  conversing. 
Across  the  room,  to  the  right  of  my  bed,  was  an  open  door, 
which  I  could  see  without  lifting  my  head  from  the  pillow. 

While  I  lay  there  listening  to  the  words  of  Brother  May,  a 
personage  clothed  in  a  white  robe  entered  the  room.  He 
appeared  to  be  a  young  man,  and  had  a  very  pleasing  counte- 


60  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

nance.  This  personage  passed  around  the  bed  and  stood  near 
the  table.  Brother  May  rose  and  offered  the  visitant  a  chair, 
and  then  withdrew.  The  young  man  seated  himself  at  the 
table  and  opened  a  book.  He  said: 

''Are you  ready  to  report  the  Sydney  Branch?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  I  responded. 

''Then  proceed." 

I  gave  him  an  account  of  all  our  doings  in  Sydney,  begin- 
ing  with  our  first  effort  of  reorganizing,  and  closing  with  my 
last  act  previous  to  sailing — for  aU  these  things  seemed  plain 
to  my  mind.  The  recital  seemed  to  occupy  me  several  minutes, 
aad  I  continued  to  sp?ak  freely.  lie  wrote  in  the  book  rap- 
idly, and  never  once  interrupted  me.  I  felt  that  he  was  tak- 
ing every  word  I  uttered.  When  I  stopped,  he  asked: 

"Have  you  anything  more  to  say?" 

4 'No,  sir,"   I  answered. 

Then  he  turned  the  leaves  back,  and  seemed  to  read  from 
the  beginning.  He  said: 

"Very  well.     Now  where  are  you  going?" 

"To  New  Zealand." 

He  recorded  my  answer  in  the  book,  and  then  signed  his 
name — I  could  not  see  the  words  of  his  name,  but  I  felt  that 
he  was  writing  his  own  signature.  He  closed  the  book  and 
walked  around  to  the  right  side  of  the  bed,  shook  hands  with 
me,  and  said: 

"Good-by;  I  will  be  there  before  you." 

He  passed  from  the  room,  and  then  I  saw  the  figure  of  a 
little  child  standing  at  the  foot  of  the  bed.  I  looked  closely 
and  recognized  my  little  brother  Teddy,  who  had  been  drowned 
nearly  twenty  years  before.  I  seemed  to  know  that  he  had 
come  from  the  spirit  world,  and  in  my  anxiety  I  sprang  from 
the  bed,  and,  resting  one  knee  upon  the  floor,  I  gazed  intently 
at  him.  He  stepped  near  me,  and  I  took  one  little  arm  in 
my  hand.  Although  a  spirit,  he  seemed  palpable  to  my  touch. 
I  said: 

"I  think  you  are  my  little  brother  Teddy;  but  it  is  so  long 
since  I  saw  you  that  I  had  almost  forgotten  how  you  looked. ' ' 


FINDING   COMFORT.  61 

Then  the  thought  came  into  my  mind  that  I  must  ask  him 
some  question.  I  said: 

"Teddy,  have  you  seen  our  Heavenly  Father  yet?  ' 

He  answered  in  the  sweet  voice  of  a  child: 

4 'No — but  I  shall  see  Him." 

I  noticed  that  he  was  trembling,  and  that  from  his  eyes 
there  went  a  glance  of  fear  to  the  open  door,  I  asked  again: 

"Have  you  brought  any  message  to  me?" 

To  this  question  he  answered,  "Yes,"  shaking  at  the 
time  more  violently  with  fear;  but  lie  turned  his  glance  from 
the  door  and  his  eyes  looked  straight  into  mine,  and  he  came 
nestling  into  my  arms.  He  lifted  the  fore  finger  of  his  right 
hand  toward  my  face  and  said: 

"Only  be  true!" 

He  turned  his  head,  still  with  that  frightened  glance,  at  the 
open  door,  and  this  time  I  also  looked.  And  I  saw  an  evil 
spirit  standing  just  outside  and  shaking  its  fist  at  the  lit  tie  one, 
and  bearing  on  its  face  a  demoniacal  scowl.  Its  whole  bear- 
ing and  gesture  implied  the  words,  "Don't  you  dare  to  give 
that  message!" 

When  I  saw  this,  1  said  to  Teddy: 

"Have  no  fear — I  know  how  to  drive  him  away." 

For  even  in  my  dieam  I  seemed  to  understand  what  power 
the  evil  one  possessed  and  how  he  could  be  rebuked.  And  I 
seemed  now  to  have  got  back  my  faith  and  the  power  of  my 
calling.  I  strode  to  the  door  and  stood  close  to  the  wicked 
spirit.  I  raised  my  arm  to  the  square,  with  my  hand  open 
and  the  palm  extended  toward  him,  saying  at  the  same  time: 

"In  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  the 
Son  of  the  living  God,  I  command  you  to  be  gone." 

He  looked  at  me  with  a  hateful  glare,  but  slowly  wa'ked 
three  or  four  steps  down  the  stairway  which  was  there.  Then 
he  stopped,  folded  his  arms,  and,  looking  at  me  defiantly, 
cried: 

"I  will  not  go!     I  will  not  go!    I  will  not  go!" 

I  said: 

"You  will  go." 


62  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

And  then  I  followed  him  down,  again  standing  close  to  him. 
Again  I  brought  my  arm  to  the  square  and  repeated  my  solemn 
adjuration.  He  walked  down  the  stairs  and  took  refuge  in  a 
corner.  This  time  he  assumed  a  most  resolute  mem.  His 
faco  expressed  intense  malice  and  hatred.  He  cried: 

"I  will  not  go — you  shall  not  drive  me  away!" 

For  the  last  time  I  invoked  that  supreme  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus,  and  then  the  demon — shaking  his  hands  at  me  still  in 
a  threatening  manner,  fled  with  a  look  of  baffled  rage  on  his 
hideous  countenance. 

I  returned  to  the  room  and  found  that  Teddy  was  gone. 

Weak  and  exhausted  I  climbed  back  into  my  bed  and 
seemed  to  fall  asleep;  and  at  the  very  instant  when  I  seemed 
to  lapse  into  slumber  I  awoke  with  a  start  and  heard  the  sound 
of  a  jolly  song. 

Instead  of  the  dry  parched  feeling  which  had  enveloped  my 
whole  being  when  I  fell  asleep,  I  was  now  in  a  delicious  per- 
spiration. From  my  lace  the  sweat  was  rolling  in  little  streams. 
This  seemed  as  pleasant  to  me  as  a  flood  of  water  to  a  thirsty 
desert. 

The  singing  came  from  the  cabin.  The  man  who  was  giving 
the  song  in  a  full,  manly  voice,  was  so  near  to  my  berth  that  I 
cou]d  have  reached  out  and  placed  my  hand  upon  his  shoulder. 
The  chorus  of  his  song  went  to  my  heart;  and  I  afterward 
learned  that  the  young  man  had  not  been  invited  to  sing,  but 
had  been  seized  with  a  sudden  impulse,  unaccountable  even  to 
himself.  To  this  hour  I  have  treasured  in  my  recollection  the 
comforting  words  of  that  chorus.  They  were: 

* 'Never,  boys,  give  wav  to  sorrow, 

But  be  up  and  act  like  men! 
Look  with  hope  for  joys  to-morrow— 

Sunny  days  shall  come  again!" 

When  again  I  fell  asleep  I  was  comparatively  happy.  The 
following  morning  when  I  awoke  I  was  well,  except  for  great 
weakness. 

Many  hours  subsequently,  while  I  lay  wide-awake  and  com- 
fortable in  my  berth — lulled  by  the  swirl  of  waters  against  the 
ship — I  saw,  standing  on  a  step  ladder  by  the  side  of  my  berth 


FINDING   COMFORT.  63 

and  looking  down  upon  me,  a  little  old  lady.  She  was  short 
and  stout,  and  pleasant-looking.  Her  eyes  gleamed  with  kind- 
ness, and  she  smiled  in  a  most  friendly  fashion.  How  she 
came  there  1  knew  not,  but  she  seemed  to  feel  perfectly  at 
home. 

When  my  eyes  met  hers,  she  began  to  nod  at  me.  She  con- 
tinued her  droll  recognition  for  several  moments,  and  then  she 
spoke  in  a  jolly  tone: 

-"I  know  you;  I  know  you!  And  you  shall  know  me  when 
we  meet  again.'* 

Then  she  disappeared  as  suddenly  as  she  had  come.  But 
her  face  and  figure,  her  smile  and  twinkling  eyes,  and  her 
good-natured  voice  remained  long  with  me  as  a  pleasant  mem- 
ory. Before  I  had  been  a  very  long  time  in  New  Zealand,  I 
saw  her  again;  but  this  next  time  her  presence  was  more  than 
a  fleeting  fancy. 

At  ten  o'clock  on  Tuesday  morning  we  sighted  New  Zea- 
land. At  eight  o'clock  that  night  we  arrived  at  the  port  of 
Wellington.  It  was  in  the  ordinary  time  of  the  steamer  that 
we  should  leave  at  four  o'clock  the  next  morning  on  the  voy- 
age across  Cook's  Strait  to  Littleton,  my  destination — 175 
miles  distant. 

Instead,  however,  of  our  getting  away  Wednesday  morning 
at  four  o'clock,  at  that  hour  a  furious  gale  was  coming  up  the 
strait.  So  terrific  was  its  power  that  the  captain  could  not 
entertain  the  thought  of  going  out  of  port;  so  we  remained 
over  twenty-six  hours,  and  left  Wellington  at  six  o'clock  on 
Thursday  morning. 

On  Friday  morning,  about  six  o'clock,  we  reached  Port 
Littleton,  from  which  place  I  had  learned  that  a  train  started 
for  Christ  church,  on  the  way  to  Rangiora,  an  hour  later.  It 
was  my  intention  to  go  on  shore  with  my  luggage  and  take  a 
seat  in  this  train  before  seven  o'clock. 

But,  as  I  was  about  to  set  foot  upon  the  gangway,  I  felt  a 
sudden  prompting,  as  distinct  as  if  it  were  a  voice,  speaking 
to  me: 

"Don't  go  ashore  now.     You  must  wait  for  a  time." 


64  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

I  learned  that  another  train  would  leave  during  the  morning, 
and  then  I  went  back  into  the  cabin  with  my  luggage  and 
remained  nearly  an  hour.  While  waiting  I  seemed  to  hear  a 
voice  as  of  someone  speaking  behind  me: 

"Now  is  your  time  to  go  ashore." 

I  took  all  my  luggage  on  my  shoulders  and  in  my  hands,  and 
walked  across  the  deck  and  gangway,  and  was  just  setting  foot 
on  the  quay,  when  a  man  rushed  up  to  me  and  said: 

"Excuse  me,  sir;  but  do  you  know  of  anyone  by  the  name 
of  Shreeve  on  board  this  vessel?1' 

I  dropped  my  luggage,  reached  out  my  hand,  and  said: 

"You  are  Brother  Nordstrand!" 

He  replied: 

"Yes;  and  you  are  Brother  Shreeve!  Allow  me  to  welcome 
you  to  New  Zealand." 

I  did  not  know  at  the  time  why  I  said  "Brother  Nord- 
strand." Of  course  I  had  never  seen  the  man  before,  and  the 
only  possible  acquaintance  I  could  have  had  with  his  name, 
was,  that  I'had  glanced  once  or  twice,  some  weeks  previous, 
at  a  report  which  contained  the  names  of  the  New  Zealand 
Saints.  Paying  but  little  attention  to  this  matter  at  the  time, 
I  did  not  remember  that  Nordstrand  was  among  these  names, 
even  if  I  saw  it.  I  had  no  idea  that  any  person  would  come 
to  meet  me.  And  yet  I  spoke  his  name  and  reached  out  my 
hand  to  him  with  as  much  confidence  as  if  we  had  been  old 
acquaintances,  cnly  separated  for  a  year  or  two. 

If  this  experience  on  my  own  part  seemed  marvelous  to  me, 
upon  reflection,  I  was  still  more  surprised  when  Brother  Nord- 
strand related  the  events  which  caused  him  to  meet  the  Waka- 
tipu  at  Port  Littleton.  He  said: 

"I  live  at  Styx.  This  morning  in  a  dream,  a  personage — a 
young  man  of  pleasing  appearance,  clothed  in  a  white  robe — 
visited  me  and  instructed  me  to  go  to  Port  Littleton  this  morn- 
ing and  meet  the  steamer  Wakattpu,  and  find  among  her  pas- 
sengers a  man  named  Shreeve,  who  was  a  "Mormon"  Elder 
coming  to  visit  the  Saints  in  New  Zealand.  The  vision  was  so 
vivid  that  I  was  roused  from  my  sleep;  and,  when  it  was 
ended,  I  sprang  out  of  bed  and  looked  at  the  clock.  I  found 


FINDING  COMFORT.  95 

the  hour  to  be  four  A.  M.  Two  hours  later  I  saddled  my  horse 
and  rode  to  Christchurch,  a  distance  of  six  or  seven  miles. 
There  I  took  train  for  Port  Littleton,  nine  miles  away,  and 
arrived  here  to  meet  you." 

The  sole  information  and  instruction  upon  which  Brother 
Nordstrand  acted  was  that  conveyed  to  him  in  this  dream.  In 
a  later  conversation  I  learned  that  in  the  same  vision  he  had 
been  shown  all  the  consequences  which  would  attend  upon  my 
ministration  in  New  Zealand.  The  event  proved  that  this 
dream  to  Brother  Nordstrand  was  one  of  the  greatest  blessings 
of  my  life.  I  encountered  much  tribulation  in  New  Zealand; 
no  more  from  the  bigotry  of  the  world  than  from  the  perfidy 
of  my  own  brethren.  But  through  all  the  trouble  Brother 
Nordstrand  was  my  devoted  friend.  He  had  never  a  moment 
of  doubt,  because  all  which  happened  had  been  by  him  fore- 


CHAPTER    V. 


REASON  FOR  MY  SUDDEN  CALL  TO  LEAVE  SYDNEY— THE 
LTTTLE  OLD  LADY  OF  THE  "WAKATIPU"— SHE  HAD 
WAITED  A  GENERATION  TO  RENEW  HER  COVENANTS — 
ANOTHER  "HELPFUL  VISION" — A  MYSTERIOUS  HALF- 
SOVEREIGN—SAVED  FROM  DEATH  IN  A  SWIFT  RIVER. 

ELDERS  William  McLachlan,  Thomas  Steed,  Charles 
Hurst  and  Fred.  Hurst  had  been  the  last  Utah  Elders  to 
labor  in  the  New  Zealand  missionary  field  previous  to  the  da'e  of 
my  landing  there.  They  had  rendered  good  service  to  the  cause, 
and  I  discovered  that  the  foundation  which  they  had  laid  was 
broad  and  deep,  and  cemented  in  gospel  truth. 

After  a  few  days  visit  with  .Brother  Nordstrand  at  Styx,  I 
went  to  Southbrook,  where  I  found  Elder  James  Burnett 
Jr.,  the  young  man  who  had  been  left  in  charge  of  the  mission 
by  the  brethren  about  a  year  before. 

With  him  and  with  others  I  labored  up  and  down  the  coun- 
try in  that  locality,  and  in  the  ensuing  three  months  twenty- 


66  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

five  souls  were  brought  into  the  Church  in  the  Canterbury 
Province. 

One  of  my  first  meetings  was  held  at  Prebbleton.  While 
speaking  there,  I  felt  led  to  detail  the  strange  succession  of 
circumstances  attendant  upon  my  coming  so  early  to  that  field. 
When  I  sat  down  a  good  sister  named  Mortensen  arose  and 
said: 

1  'Brother  Shreeve,  I  can  tell  you  why  you  received  the  com- 
mand to  come  to  New  Zealand  immediately.  It  was  in  answer 
to  our  fervent  prayer.  For  more  than  three  months  previous 
to  your  arrival  here  we  had  been  anxiously  supplicating  the 
Lord  to  send  us  an  Elder  from  Utah." 

About  two  months  after  I  landed  in  New  Zealand  I  was  trav- 
eling in  company  with  Brother  John  Walker,  when  he  said  to 
me: 

4 'There  is  a  woman  living  in  this  neighborhood,  who,  I 
understand,  once  belonged  to  the  Church.  I  am  acquainted 
with  her  husband.  Let  us  go  over  and  see  her." 

I  assented  to  his  proposition  and  went  to  the  house  desig- 
nated. When  we  entered  we  saw  a  little  old  woman  sitting  by 
the  stove,  smoking  a  pipe.  She  arose  with  some  embarrass- 
ment at  receiving  visitors.  But  the  moment  she  fully  con- 
fronted me,  I  saw  that  she  was  the  little  old  woman  who  had 
visited  me  in  imagination  on  board  the  Wakatipu,  while  sail- 
ing across  Cook's  Straits. 

I  learned  that  her  name  was  Sister  Emmas,  and  in  conver- 
sation she  stated  to  me  that  she  had  become  a  member  of  the 
Church  a  generation  before,  in  the  town  of  Bristol  in  England. 
It  was  there  that  the  miracle  of  restoration  of  sight  was  per- 
formed under  the  administration  of  Elder  John  Hackwell, 
upon  the  eyes  of  the  children  of  William  and  Elizabeth 
Bounsell.  Sister  Emmas  had  been  an  eye  witness  to  this  mir- 
acle. She  was  then  firm  in  the  faith;  but  the  young  man 
whom  she  married— being  anxious  to  get  her  away  from  the 
influence  of  the  hated  "Mormons"  had  carried  her  to  this 
remote  nook  in  New  Zealand,  thinking  that  he  had  separated 
her  from  the  Church  forever. 


FINDING  COMFORT.  67 

She  had  often  prayed  to  be  visited  by  members  of  the 
Church  and  to  be  united  with  her  people.  Some  years  before 
I  met  her  a  man  had  worked  for  her  husband  for  a  brief  time, 
and  then  departed.  After  he  was  gone  she  learned  that  he 
was  a  "Mormon."  Re  had  interested  her  greatly  while  he 
labored  for  her  husband,  and  she  had  been  unable  to  account 
for  the  interest  she  took  in  him.  After  he  was  gone  the  mat- 
ter was  explained  to  her  satisfaction;  and  she  looked  anxiously 
for  his  return — but  in  vain,  for  she  never  saw  him  after  that 
hour. 

In  later  conversitions  I  spoke  to  her  of  her  appearance  to 
me  on  board  the  Wakatipu,  and  by  comparison  of  dates  I 
learned  that  on  or  about  the  very  day  when  she  appeared  to 
me,  she  had  been  praying  most  earnestly  that  the  Lord  would 
bless  her  with  a  visit  from  a  "Mormon"  Elder.  She  had  often 
sat  by  her  window  and  looked  out  with  straining  eyes  and  anx- 
ious heart  for  someone  to  come  to  her,  and  bring  a  renewal  of 
the  glad  tidings  which  she  had  heard  thirty  years  before  in 
England. 

While  I  remained  in  that  region  Sister  Emmas  was  very 
kind  to  me.  She  frequently  helped  me  with  money,  and  I  was 
always  a  welcome  visitor  at  her  house. 

She  loved  to  talk  about  the  things  of  the  gospel,  but  I  found 
that  she  was  but  a  child.  She  had  heard  nothing  of  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Church  except  those  earliest  taught  in  England, 
and  the  sublime  doctrines  of  baptism  for  the  dead,  and  other 
things  revealed  to  the  Saints  later  than  her  day  in  the  Church 
were  entirely  new  and  strange  to  her.  Often  when  I  was  talk- 
ing she  would  clasp  her  hands,  and  look  at  me  with  the  utmost 
surprise,  saying : 

"Well,  well !  Now  they  didn't  teach  that  when  I  joined  the 
Church — I  didn't  understand  it  that  way." 

But  she  seemed  always  willing  to  learn,  and  was  indeed  a 
faithful  soul.  Her  husband,  however,  continued  bitterly 
opposed,  and  after  some  time  both  she  and  I  agreed  that  for 
the  sake  of  her  peace  it  would  be  better  if  my  visits  to  their 
house  ceased.  But  before  we  finally  parted  the  good  old  lady 
said  to  me: 


HELPFUL  VISIONS. 


"You  will  know  when  I  am  dead — I  will  let  you  know;  and 
then,  if  there  is  anything  which  you  can  do  for  my  eternal 
blessing,  I  pray  you  to  do  it." 

i  On  the  27th  of  February,  1879,  I  went  to  the  North  Island, 
in  the  hope  to  do  some  successful  labor  there.  At  Wellington 
I  stopped  at  a  hotel  kept  by  a  Mr.  Davil'.e,  a  relative  of  Bro- 
ther C.  W.  Carter  of  Salt  Lake.  On  the  night  of  my  arrival 
I  retired  to  my  room,  wet  and  cold.  I  was  wearied,  but  wake- 
ful, because  of  my  anxiety.  I  knew  that  several  efforts  had 
been  made  in  times  past  to  open  the  work  in  this  region ;  but 
they  seemed  all  to  have  been  unsuccessful,  and  I  doubted  my 
own  ability  to  accomplish  any  good.  I  felt  prayerful,  but  still 
despondent. 

While  I  lay,  wide  awake,  in  my  bed  I  suddenly  saw  a  hand  and 
arm,  clothed  in  a  white  sleeve  which  extended  down  midway 
between  the  elbow  and  the  wrist,  and  holding  a  torch  in  its  hand 
— thrust  out  from  the  side  of  a  dark  fireplace  which  was  in  the 
rjom. 

Atfirst  there  was  but  a  spark  of  light  at  the  top  of  the  torch, 
but  gradually  the  flame  grew  greater  and  the  lisht  stronger, 
until  it  filled  the  whole  room;  and  then  from  out  the  darkness 
behind  the  arm  and  torch  stepped  the  figure  of  a  little  girl. 
r  I  recognized  it  instantly  as  that  of  my  young  sister  Sophia, 
who  had  died  six  years  before  in  England,  while  I  was  in  Utah. 
At  the  time  of  her  death  she  was  eight  and  a  half  years  old, 
and  had  but  recently  been  baptized  into  the  Church.  She 
came  toward  the  bed,  and  I  saw  that  she  was  dressed  in  beau- 
tiful.white  raiment.  From  her  whole  person  a  pleasing  light 
seemed  to  emanate.  She  approached  the  bed  and  leaned  over 
it,  placing  her  arms  around  my  neck  and  kissing  me  upon  the 
lips.  Then,  still  with  her  hands  clasped,  she  leaned  back  and 
looked  intently  into  my  face,  saying  at  the  same  time: 

"Tom,  don't  be  afraid!  Whenever  you  are  in  danger  I  will 
come  to  warn  you." 

She  bent  forward  and  kissed  me  again;  afterward  leaning 
back  to  take  another  look  at  my  face.  Repeating  the  same 
words  as  before,  once  more  she  kissed  me;  and  then  slowly 
withdrew  her  arms  and  moved  back  from  the  bed.  She 


FINDING  COMFORT.  69 

approached  the  arm,  which  still  held  the  torch,  and  as 
she  did  so  I  saw  that  the  light  of  the  torch  paled  before  the 
greater  glory  which  surrounded  her  person.  When  she  neared 
the  fireplace  the  arm  stretched  out  around  her,  and  she  stepped 
back  into  the  darkness.  She  waved  her  hand  three  times  with 
a  farewe1!  gesture  toward  me.  Soon  she  was  enveloped  in  the 
darkness  of  the  fireplace,  and  the  light  of  the  torch  grew 
for  a  moment  brighter;  then  suddenly  it  vanished  and  I  found 
myself  leaning  upon  my  elbow  in  the  bed  and  gazing  fixedly 
at  the  blank  darkness  where  the  glorious  presence  and  the 
light  torch  had  disappeared.  So  real  and  certain  had  been 
the  presence  of  my  sister  that  after  she  was  gone  I  still  felt 
he  pressure  of  her  warm  arms  around  my  neck. 

I  remained  in  that  region  for  a  time,  but  could  not  find  any 
opening;  and  therefore  concluded  to  return  to  the  South  Island. 
At  the  time  I  greatly  regretted  the  necessity  for  this  step,  for 
it  seemed  like  a  desertion  of  the  field;  but  I  was  later  led  to 
thank  God  for  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  for  taking  me  away 
from  the  North  Island. 

It  had  been  my  purpose  to  obtain  an  opening  among  the 
Maories,  and  proclaim  to  them  the  gospel;  but  two  weeks  after 
my  return  to  the  South  Island  serious  trouble  broke  out 
between  the  government  and  the  Maori  tribes  which  I  had 
intended  to  visit  on  the  west  coast.  This  trouble  continued  for 
a  considerable  time,  and  during  it,  whenever  my  mind  recurred 
to  the  subject,  I  thanked  the  Lord  that  I  had  been  led  away 
from  that  locality;  because  the  people  of  that  region  would 
have  been  only  too  glad  to  attribute  the  Maori  uprising  to  the 
"incendiary  presence"  of  a  Mormon  Elder. 

One  day  after  my  return,  myself  and  a  companion  had  been 
baptizing  at  Alfred  Forest  and  it  was  our  desire  to  reach 
Templeton  as  speedily  as  possible.  We  were  very  tired,  hav- 
ing walked  thirty-two  miles  that  day,  and  we  concluded  to  ride 
from  Rakaia  to  Templeton,  provided  we  had  enongh  money 
for  the  purpose.  We  emptied  all  our  pockets  very  carefully. 
I  took  especial  care  to  feel  in  every  corner  of  my  clothing,  and 
I  gave  all  I  had  to  my  companion,  who  said  that  with  his  little 
stock  this  was  barely  sufficient  to  purchase  the  tickets.  When 


70  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

we  arrived  at  Templeton  we  learned  that  Brother  Walker  was 
quite  ill  at  his  home  in  a  little  town  two  or  three  miles  distant 

When  I  arose  to  dress  the  next  morning,  1  happened  to  put 
my  hand  in  my  vest  pocket;  and  to  my  amazement  I  drew 
forth  a  half-sovereign  in  gold.  How  it  came  there  I  know  not 
to  this  day:  I  was  possessed  of  such  a  coin  so  infrequently  in 
those  days  that  I  had  certainly  not  placed  it  in  my  pocket  and 
forgotten  it;  basides  only  the  night  previous  at  Rakaia  I  had 
searched  my  pockets  carefully  and  hai  given  every  penny  pos- 
sessed to  my  fellow- laborer. 

At  the  request  of  my  companion,  who  was  too  weary  to 
attempt  the  journey,  I  trudged  down  that  morning  to  Brother 
Walker's  house — although  I  myself  had  been  so  tired  that  I 
thought  I  could  not  walk  a  furlong.  When  I  reached  the 
house  I  found  Brother  Walker  was  indeed  very  sick;  and  that, 
owing  to  the  confinement  occasioned  by  his  sickness,  his  busi- 
ness had  been  neglected,  and  his  folks  had  been  unable  to  leave 
him  while  they  made  collections  of  money  due  him,  and  they 
were  for  the  moment  in  a  very  needy  state,  not  having  a  penny 
in  the  house. 

When  I  found  the  situation  in  which  they  were  placed  I  said 
to  Sister  Walker: 

"I  have  found  a  half-sovereign  this  morning,  which  came 
to  me  in  some  unknown  way  for  some  unknown  purpose;  and 
now  I  shall  be  glad  to  let  you  have  it  for  your  needs. ' ' 

She  thanked  me,  and  told  me  that  she  would  be  graieful  if 
I  would  hitch  up  their  horse  and  drive  over  to  Christchurch 
and  purchase  some  bread  and  medicine.  I  did  as  she  requested. 
I  hitched  up  the  horse  and  went  immediately  to  Christchurch, 
a  distance  of  three  or  four  miles. 

Arrived  there  I  went  to  the  baker's  shop  and  asked  for  two 
shillings  and  sixpence  worth  of  bread,  giving  the  baker  in 
payment  my  half-sovereign,  or  ten  shilling  piece.  He  gave 
me  the  proper  change  I  am  sure,  because  I  watched  it  care- 
fully. I  placed  this  change  of  silver  in  the  empty  purse  which 
I  had  in  my  hand,  and  then  went  to  the  chemist's  shop.  Here 
I  purchased  medicine  to  the  amount  of  two  shillings,  and  took 
that  much  money  from  the  purse  and  paid  the  chemist. 


FINDING  COMFORT.  ?1 

Then  I  hastened  back  to  Brother  Walker's,  and  when  I 
entered  the  house  I  gave  the  folks  the  bread  and  the  medicine, 
and  tossed  the  purse,  containing  as  I  supposed,  five  shillings 
and  sixpence  in  change,  to  Sister  Walker.  She  emptied  the 
money  into  her  lap,  counted  it,  and  then  said: 

"You  did  not  pay  for  the  bread  and  medicine  which  you  got 
at  Christchurch." 

I  replied  that  I  had  paid  for  them,  certainly;  because,  being 
unknown  to  the  baker  and  chemist,  they  would  not  have 
trusted  me. 

4 'But,"  she  replied,  "you  have  brought  back  ten  shillings 
and  four  pence — which  is  more  than  you  carried  away  with 
you." 

I  answered  that  I  could  not  help  that — I  had  certainly  paid 
for  the  bread  and  the  medicine  and  had  received  my  exact 
change  from  the  baker,  who  broke  the  money  for  me. 

But  whatever  I  might  say,  there  was  the  money — four  pence 
more  than  I  had  carried  away,  although  I  had  spent  four 
shillings  and  sixpence. 

Some  time  afterward  I  was  requested  by  Jeppe  C.  Jeppeson 
to  go  to  Alfred  Forest  to  perform  for  him  and  his  family  the 
ordinance  of  baptism.  I  was  then  at  Prebbleton,  and  Alfred 
Forest  was  more  than  seventy  miles  away. 

The  second  day  of  my  journey  I  had  thirty-two  miles  to 
travel  on  foot  from  the  Rakaia  River  to  Alfred  Forest.  My 
way  lay  for  len  miles  along  the  bank  of  the  Rakaia;  and  thence 
along  a  level  stretch  for  twenty  miles,  to  the  North  Ashburton 
River.  This  I  would  be  obliged  to  cross,  and  from  the  cross- 
ing to  travel  for  two  miles  to  the  residence  of  Mr.  Jeppeson. 
The  Rakaia  is  a  broad  river  flowing  between  high  and  steep 
banks. 

The  day  was  extremely  hot,  with  a  north-west  wind  blow- 
ing. This  "north-wester"  as  it  is  called  in  that  region  is 
something  like  the  desert  simoon — it  dries  the  sap  out  of 
everything.  It  is  intensely  hot  and  parching  in  its  nature,  and 
quickly  enervates  any  person  exposed  to  its  influence.  Espec- 
ially is  this  the  case  with  a  person  unaccustomed  to  the  cli- 
mate. 


72  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

Whenever  1  wanted  to  moisten  my  lips  I  had  considerable 
difficulty  in  descending  to  the  stream  and  reascending  the 
steep  and  high  bank.  But  I  was  soon  spared  this  annoyance; 
because  when  I  began  to  cross  the  plain  I  found  no  water 
whatever.  There  was  not  a  drop  to  be  found  for  a  stretch  of 
nearly  fifteen  miles.  Several  times  during  this  painful  journey 
I  lay  down,  feeling  utterly  exhausted;  and  once  or  twice  I  felt 
that  death  would  be  a  relief. 

.  About  a  mile  before  L  reached  the  north  fork  of  the  Ash- 
burton,  I  saw  a  stick  about  six  feet  long  and  two  inches  thick, 
lying  across  my  path.  I  passed  it  by,  but  could  not  help  feel- 
ing greatly  surprised  at  seeing  it  there;  because  I  had  not, 
during  the  whole  time  that  I  was  walking  across  this  plain 
seen  any  tree  or  shrub  or  even  a  willow  of  any  kind.  After  I 
had  gone  some  distance,  I  felt  an  impression  that  I  ought  to 
turn  back  and  get  the  stick.  I  endeavored  to  put  this  idea 
from  my  mind,  but  without  avail;  and  so  I  returned  and  picked 
up  the  stick  and  carried  it  with  me. 

When  I  reached  the  river  I  expected  to  find  someone  there 
to  meet  me;  because  Mr.  Jeppeson  had  promised  that  his  son 
would  await  me  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  with  a  horse, 
and  help  me  across.  But  I  found  no  one  there. 

The  sun  had  long  gone  down,  and  darkness  was  swiftly  des- 
cending upon  the  earth.  The  river  was  rapidly  rising  for  the 
north-wester  was  the  warning  of  a  storm  which  had  been  rag- 
ing in  the  mountains.  This  branch  of  the  Ashburton  was 
about  a  furlong  in  width,  and  was  naturally  a  rapid  though  not 
deep  stream.  Its  fall  was  so  great  that  an  immense  quantity 
of  water  could  be  carried  with  a  shallow  depth.  As  with 
many  other  New  Zealand  rivers,  for  a  single  person  to  cross  on 
foot  was  a  dangerous  experiment,  because  the  water  flows  so 
rapidly  that  one  is  easily  lifted  off  his  feet;  and  once  down  he 
could  never  get  up  again. 

I  was  debating  in  my  mind  whether  I  should  pass  the  night 
on  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  or  run  the  risk  of  death  in 
crossing,  when  I  saw  a  rift  like  a  triangle  open  in  the  clouded 
sky  to  the  south.  From  this  rife  sufficient  light  came  to  ena- 
ble me  to  see  the  surface  of  the  stream.  I  looked  from  the 


FINDING  COMFORT. 


roadway  and  saw  that  at  various  points  in  the  river  were  shift- 
ing sand  bars,  which  I  could  detect  by  the  rippling  over  them 
of  the  rising  waters. 

I  knelt  down  and  prayed  for  guidance  from  my  Heavenly 
Father,  and  when  I  arose  it  was  with  a  determination  to  cross 
the  stream.  I  descended  into  the  water,  but  some  influence 
immediately  forced  me  back  to  shore.  This  influence  was  so 
powerful  that  it  lifted  me  back  to  the  bank  like  a  cork. 

Then  I  bent  over  and  looked  at  the  stream,  and  by  the  aid 
of  the  light  from  the  open  space  in  the  sky  I  saw  that  where  I 
intended  to  enter  the  river  was  a  deep,  dark  current.  Higher 
up  I  could  see  that  the  light  shone  on  a  line  of  ripples,  betok- 
ening sand  bars,  extending  almost  entirely  across  the  stream. 
i  ascended  to  a  favorable  point  and  saw  that  here  the  light 
shone  at  its  brightest;  and  I  took  this  line  for  my  ford. 

I  had  the  stick  which  I  had  providentially  picked  up,  and 
this  I  put  into  the  water  down  stream  from  me,  and  grounded 
it  on  the  bottom,  and  then  I  entered  without  fear.  I  leaned 
up  stream  as  far  as  I  could  without  falling,  and,  although  the 
stream  was  only  up  to  my  knees,  the  pressure  of  the  swift  cur- 
rent against  my  body  threw  it  as  high  as  my  waist.  As  soon 
as  I  could  gain  a  firm  footing  upon  the  bottom,  I  moved  my 
stick  from  point  to  point;  and  in  this  way  progressed  safely  to 
the  first  bar.  Then  I  stepped  into  a  hole  with  my  right  foot, 
and  caught  myself  just  as  I  was  going  down. 

A  cold  sweat  broke  out  on  me,  because,  while  I  had  not  had 
much  experience  with  New  Zealand  rivers,  I  knew  perfectly 
well  that  to  lose  my  footing  was  to  die.  I  stood  a  moment  to 
breathe  and  to  recover  my  composure,  and  then  I  started 
on. 

Guided  by  the  light,  and  supported  by  my  stick,  I  was  able 
to  zig  zag  from  one  bar  to  another,  un*il  I  was  within  twenty 
yards  of  the  south  bank.  Then  again  I  missed  my  footing, 
and  was  whirled  around  and  nearly  cast  down.  The  stick  once 
more  saved  me,  and  in  a  few  minutes  I  was  safely  landed  on 
the  shore. 

Wet,  exhausted  with  the  long  battle  in  crossing  the  river, 
my  shoes  full  of  sand  and  my  feet  raw;  I  sank  down  upon  the 


74  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

ground,  wearied  but  joyful.  I  thanked  God  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  my  life  through  the  struggle  with  the  fierce  river. 

When  I  rose  from  my  knees  I  looked  up  at  the  sky,  and  saw 
that  the  providential  light  (which  had  undoubtedly  been  the 
means  of  saving  my  life)  had  disappeared.  I  felt  convinced 
from  this  that  there  were  DO  more  streams;  and  the  result 
proved  the  correctness  of  that  idea. 

I  walked  on  two  miles  and  found  the  house  of  Mr.  Jeppe- 
son;  but  it  was  closed  up,  all  the  people  having  retired  to  bed. 
When  I  found  that  they  had  preferred  to  retire,  rather  than 
to  fulfill  their  engagement  with  me,  I  went  to  the  house  of 
Brother  Olsen,  who  kindly  gave  me  supper  and  a  bed. 

A  few  days  later,  Mr.  t  Jeppeson  came  to  me  with  profuse 
apologies,  and  at  his  request  I  baptized  him  and  his  family. 


CHAPTER    V. 


SOME  OLD  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHURCH— THE  SPIRIT  PROMPTS 
PROMISES  TO  THEM  WHICH  ARE  LIIERALLY  FULFILLED 
— HELP  FROM  A  CATHOLIC  WHO  is  SUDDENLY  CON- 
VERTED AND  WHO  AS  SUDDENLY  APOSTATIZES— A  SPON- 
TANEOUS PROPHECY — THE  JOURNEY  HOME— A  CAREFUL 
OBSERVER— SAFE  IN  ZION. 

ONE  day  while  visiting  at  a  little  village  called  Grey  town, 
I  met  a  lady  whose  name  was  Mrs.  Reid.  She  had 
belonged  to  the  Church  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  before,  when 
she  was  a  girl  in  England.  She  had  been  quite  a  devoted 
member  of  the  Church,  and  some  of  the  Elders  promised  her 
that  through  her  faithfulness  and  her  kindness  she  should  be 
enabled  to  gather  to  Zion  with  tiie  Saints.  This  was  the 
dearest  wish  of  her  heart,  and  she  fondly  anticipated  the  time. 
But  she  was  courted  by  a  man  whom  she  subsequently  mar- 
ried, and  he  came  into  the  Church  for  the  purpose  of  gaining 
her  hand.  The  time  was  almost  ret  for  her  departure  to  the 
Valley;  but  he  insisted  that  they  should  be  married  in  Eng- 


FINDING  COMFORT. 


land.  The  Elders  advised  her  to  wait  until  she  and  her  affi- 
anced could  reach  Zion;  but  she  was  persuaded  by  the  plead- 
ings of  Mr.  Keid,  and  married  him  in  England.  No  sooner 
were  they  united  than  he  took  her  to  another  part  of  the 
country,  and  later  he  carried  her  to  New  Zealand.  He  had 
not  been  sincere  in  his  protestations  of  faith,  but  had  merely 
joined  the  Church  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  her  hand. 

She  had  repented  bitterly  this  error  of  her  life,  and  when  I 
saw  her  she  was  a  most  lonely  and  miserable  creature.  Her 
mother  and  sisters  were  in  Utah,  but  she  had  no  hope  of  ever 
seeing  them.  Her  husband  was  a  besotted  wretch  who  made 
her  life  one  continued  agony. 

She  unfolded  to  me  all  the  troubles  of  her  life.  She  recalled 
cloarly  all  that  had  been  promised  to  her  by  the  Elders,  and 
she  wept  when  she  thought  of  how  she  had  robbed  this  sacred 
promise  of  its  fulfillment  by  her  own  lack  of  fidelity.  She 
blamed  no  one  but  herself,  but  she  said  to  me  very  sorrow- 
fully before  we  parted: 

"I  know  that  my  husband  will  not  permit  me  to  be  rebap- 
tized.  He  is  angry  because  you  come  here;  for  he  thinks  that 
the  "Mormons"  have  again  hunted  me  out.  But  before  you  go 
away  I  want  you  to  bless  me  and  my  children. ' ' 

I  complied  with  her  request,  and  when  my  hands  were  on 
her  head  I  felt  led  to  promise  her,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
that  she  should  be  released  from  her  trouble,  and  J:hat  very 
shortly.  A  few  months  later  I  learned  that  she  was  dead.  I 
did  not  understand  the  full  significance  of  the  promise  which 
I  gave,  at  the  time.  I  only  spoke  the  words  in  obedience  to 
the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit;  but  I  am  satisfied  that  this  was 
the  only  relief  which  could  come  to  this  poor,  oppressed 
woman,  and  Grod  sent  it  in  answer  to  her  humble  and  faithful 
prayer,  and  her  reliance  on  the  promise  which  was  made  by 
an  Elder  of  Christ.  A  similar  experience  occurred  to  me  at 
Koroira,  at  which  village  I  found  an  old  man  named  Eagles. 
Years  before  he  had  Iked  in  Salt  Lake  with  his  family;  but 
his  wife  and  children  grew  dissatisfied,  and,  in  fact,  aposta- 
tized. They  departed  for  New  Zealand,  and  the  old  brother 
followed  them  away  from  Salt  Lake  in  the  hope  to  bring  them 


76  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

back  into  the  Church,  and  induce  them  to  return  to  Zion,  But 
his  effort  had  been  in  vain;  and  now  he  was  old  and  fast  fail- 
ing and  was  the  object  of  their  contempt  and  persecution. 
They  refused  to  permit  him  to  observe,  even  in  the  simplest 
matters,  the  religion  to  which  he  was  honestly  and  irrevocably 
devoted.  I  had  heard  that  there  was  such  a  man  in  tbe 
neighborhood,  though  I  had  not  seen  him,  and  one  day  when 
1  was  passing  along  the  road  I  met  him.  I  knew  that  it  was 
he  at  once.  I  called  him  by  name,  and  then  explained  that  I 
was  a  '  'Mormon' '  Elder  from  Utah.  Brother  Eagles  expressed 
great  gladness  and  soon  told  me  his  troubles,  I  asked: 

44 You  came  away  without  any  counsel?" 

He  responded  that  he  had  left  Utah  without  counsel; 
although  he  had  made  two  or  three  vain  efforts  to  get  a  con- 
ference with  President  Young.  But  he  confessed  that  he  had 
been  in  too  great  a  hurry;  and  that  it  had  been  a  bitter  mis- 
fortune for  him  that  he  had  ever  left  Utah  without  having 
counseled  with  the  proper  authorities  and  learned  the  right 
thing  for  him  to  do. 

"I  was  a  Sunday  school  teacher  in  Huntsville,  and  I  labored 
on  the  Temple  Block  in  Salt  Lake;  and  there  among  the 
Saints  I  was  well  respected — but  here  I  am  treated  like  a  dog. 
I  am  very  sorrowful  and  unhappy." 

I  saw  that  he  was  wearied  and  despondent,  and  I  said  to 
him: 

"Never  mind,  Brother  Eagles.  Do  not  feel  bad  about  your 
troubles.  The  Lord  is  looking  down  upon  you  in  mercy.  He 
sees  your  afflictions,  and  He  will  soon  release  you.  I  am  very 
sorry  that  you  came  without  counsel;  but  you  will  be  rewarded 
for  the  faith  that  you  have  had  and  the  labors  you  have  per- 
formed. ' ' 

He  answered  me  that  he  really  hoped  the  Lord  would  soon 
release  him,  for  his  burden  was  very  heavy. 

We  parted  and  I  walked  away;  and  after  traveling  a  short 
distance  I  felt  a  sudden  regret  that  I  had  spoken  to  the  old 
gentleman  in  this  way.  I  thought  to  myself  that  he  would 
feel  bad,  and  my  words  might  increase  his  despondency.  I 
turned  around  to  look  for  him,  and  I  saw  that  he  had  mounted 


FINDING  COMFORT.  77 

nearly  to  the  crest  of  a  hill,  and  that  he  had  stopped  by  the 
roadside  and  was  leaning  upon  his  stick.  The  loneliness  and 
the  unhappiness  of  the  old  man  came  fully  to  my  mind.  I 
thought  to  go  back  and  recall  what  I  had  said;  but  the  moment 
I  started  towards  him  the  voice  of  the  Spirit  came  to  me  dis- 
tinctly, saying: 

"Proceed  with  your  journey.     Let  the  old  man  alone." 

I  went  to  Alfred  Forest,  but  returned  a  few  days  later;  and 
on  my  return  to  Christchurch  I  called  at  the  post  office.  The 
first  letter  I  received  was  from  a  friend  at  Koroira.  He  stated 
that  on  the  Monday  following  my  conversation  with  Brother 
Eagles  the  old  man  had  taken  to  his  bed.  He  had  not  seemed 
to  suffer  any  bodily  pain,  nor  to  be  afflicted  in  mind.  He 
quietly  sank  away,  apparently  in  perfect  peace  and  content- 
ment, until  the  following  Saturday,  when  he  died. 

After  nearly  two  years  of  labor  in  New  Zealand,  I  was  pre- 
paring to  return  home.  My  release  was  expected  every  mail. 
I  had  not  the  money  with  which  to  pay  my  fare  from  Christ- 
church  even  to  Auckland;  but  I  knew  that  the  way  would 
open  and  I  trusted  the  Lord  implicitly.  I  had  been  directed 
to  proceed  northward  and  perform  my  final  labors  in  the  region 
of  Wellington  and  Hawkes  Bay,  and  I  needed  the  means 
with  which  to  perform  this  labor.  The  Saints  in  the  vicinity 
of  Christchurch  were  poor.  Besides,  they  had  just  assisted 
one  missionary  with  the  means  to  carry  him  home,  and  I  could 
neither  ask  anything,  nor  were  they  in  a  position  to  give. 

The  last  Sunday  but  one  before  I  was  to  start  northward,  I 
preached  in  Christchurch  on  the  restoration  of  the  gospel. 
One  listener  was  a  man  named  Brownrigg,  who  was  not  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Church.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  means 
and  a  Catholic. 

A  day  or  two  later  I  went  up  the  country  a  short  distance 
to  bid  the  folks  farewell,  and  then  returned  to  Christchurch. 
I  found  that  in  the  meantime  Mr.  Brownrigg  had  become 
Brother  Brownrigg,  having  requested  and  received  baptism  at 
the  hands  of  the  Elders  during  ray  absence. 

On  the  last  Sunday  of  my  stay  in  that  region  I  again 
preached  in  Christchurch  and  bore  my  testimony  to  the  assem- 


78  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

bled  Saints.  Brother  Brownrigg  was  there — an  attentive  list- 
ener. The  next  day  he  called  me  into  his  business  establish- 
ment and  told  me  that  he  had  been  converted  by  the  sermon 
which  I  had  preached  on  the  restoration  of  the  gospel.  He 
enquired  what  my  means  were,  and  when  I  answered  that  I 
was  without  money,  he  said: 

"You  cannot  travel  without  means.  Here  are  five  pounds 
for  you.  This  amount  will  help  you  some." 

On  the  following  Friday  (the  day  before  I  was  to  start  away) 
he  again  called  me  into  his  store,  and  this  time  presented  me 
with  an  additional  sum  of  three  pounds— making  a  total  of 
eight  pounds,  or  $40,  which  he  had  given  me  within  a  week. 

This  circumstance  impressed  me  very  seriously.  There  was 
not  a  Saint  in  that  mission  who  was  able  to  give  me  the  money 
needed  for  my  journey  until  Brownrigg  became  a  member  of 
the  Church;  and  he  was  so  quick  and  generous  with  his  gift 
that  I  was  enabled  to  sail  on  the  day  appointed,  without  any 
further  trouble  or  annoyance.  But  if  I  were  impressed  at  this 
time,  imagine  my  feeling  when  I  learned  shortly  after  that  no 
sooner  was  I  gone  than  Mr.  Brownrigg  apostatized,  and  called 
the  whole  system  of  the  gospel  "a  pack  of  nonsense!"  I  then 
felt  ready  to  admit  that  I  had  converted  Mr.  Brownrigg  by  the 
sermon  on  the  restoration  of  the  gospel;  because  if  the  Lord 
had  converted  him,  he  would  not  have  been  so  ready  to  deny 
the  truth.  I  do  not  like  to  call  such  a  sordid  matter  as  this  a 
miracle,  and  yet  it  seems  little  short  of  miraculous  that  this 
man  should  have  come  into  the  Church,  have  given  me  the 
money  necessary  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  Lord's  direction  to 
me — and  then  have  apostatized.  He  was  a  Catholic  and 
would  not  have  given  me  the  money  without  joining  the 
Church. 

I  reached  Auckland  in  due  time;  and  on  the  last  Sunday  in 
June,  1880,  I  preached  in  Orange  Hall,  in  Newton,  Auckland, 
my  farewell  sermon  in  the  Australasian  Mission.  I  was  greatly 
moved  in  delivering  this  final  message  of  truth;  and  in  the 
course  of  my  address  I  bore  a  sincere  testimony  to  the  truth 
of  the  gospel,  and  then  the  spirit  prompted  me  to  give  to  the 
people  assembled  a  solemn  warning.  1  said: 


FINDING  COMFORT.  79 

4 'Other  Elders  will  come  to  you;  but  you  shall  reject  their 
testimony  as  you  now  reject  mine.  But  after  that,  and  before 
six  years  shall  pass  away  other  testimonies  will  be  sent  by  the 
Almighty,  which  you  can  neither  reject  nor  gainsay.  These 
testimonies  will  be  the  testimonies  of  earthquakes  and  fam- 
ines and  pestilence;  and  they  will  continue  to  afflict  you  until 
but  few  of  you  shall  live.7' 

While  uttering  these  words  I  felt  so  strongly  impressed,  so 
confident  of  their  truth,  that  I  told  the  people  to  write  my 
utterance  down,  and  watch  for  its  fulfillment.  But  when  I 
had  finished  and  the  Spirit  had  left  me  to  my  own  thoughts, 
I  felt  almost  horrified  at  the  nature  of  the  prophecy  which  I 
had  almost  unconsciously  made.  I  felt  my  humility  and  my 
weakness  most  vividly,  and  I  also  felt  almost  ashamed,  and 
certainly  very  fearful  concerning  the  fulfillment  of  what  I  had 
said.  That  feeling  of  doubt  and  almost  anger  with  myself 
came  upon  me  during  the  years  following,  whenever  the  sub- 
ject recurred  to  my  mind. 

In  June,  1886,  I  received  a  visit  from  a  brother  who  had 
recently  come  from  New  Zealand.  We  were  talking  about 
the  experiences  of  my  mission,  and  I  said  to  him : 

"It  is  now  just  six  years  since  I  left  Auckland  on  my 
return." 

No  sooner  were  the  words  uttered  than  there  flashed  through 
my  mind  a  recollection  of  the  strange  prediction  which  the 
Spirit  had  uttered  through  my  lips  in  Orange  Hall;  and  I 
thought  to  myself:  "I  must  have  been  misled.  I  have 
watched  the  papers  carefully,  and  there  is  no  sign  of  any  such 
disaster  as  that  which  I  predicted.  If  those  people  did  as  I 
requested — if  they  wrote  down  the  prophecy  as  it  was  uttered, 
some  of  them  now  will  say,  'There  is  a  falsehood  which  a 
Mormon  Elder  told."' 

This  thing  worried  me  for  a  week,  but  before  ten  days  had 
elapsed  I  saw  by  the  newspapers  that  a  few  days  before  the 
term  of  six  years  had  expired  a  mighty  and  destructive  earth- 
quake occurred  at  Lake  Rotomahana.  The  effects  of  this  earth- 
quake had  been  to  sink  the  famous  pink  terraces  of  Lake  Rotom- 
ahana; to  substitute  for  the  lake  itself  a  mud  volcano  and  five  or 


80  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

six  vomiting  volcanoes  sending  forth  streams  of  mud,  dust, 
hot  water  and  other  debris  which  covered  the  country  round 
about  for  miles  in  every  direction  to  a  prodigious  depth;  to  des- 
troy lives  and  to  extinguish  one  village  with  most  of  its  inhab- 
itants. 

I  sailed  from  Auckland  on  the  steamer  Zealandia,  on  the 
28th  day  of  June,  1880.  On  this  ship  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
rejoining  my  dear  friend  and  companion  Elder  May,  from 
whom  I  had  been  so  long  separated.  He  was  on  his  way  home 
from  Australia  bringing  with  him  a  family  of  Saints. 

On  board  the  Zealandia  were  three  members  of  the  new 
South  Wales  commission,  who  were  going  to  England  on  politi- 
cal business.  They  were,  Hon.  Alexander  Campbell,  Captain 
St.  John  and  another  whose  name  I  did  not  obtain.  Mr. 
Campbell  was  a  gentleman  of  great  suavity  of  demeanor,  fine 
appearance  and  wonderful  intelligence  and  information.  As 
soon  as  he  found  that  "Mormons"  were  on  board  he  became 
deeply  interested  in  them.  In  conversation  with  us  he  said : 

''I  have  given  some  study  to  your  question  for  the  last  thirty 
years.  I  have  watched  the  course  of  your  people;  and  I  am 
satisfied  that  you  are  working  out  great  social  problems,  To 
grapple  with  these  problems  successfully  has  been  puzzling  to 
the  wisest  of  statesmen  for  centuries.  I  am  not  one  of  those 
who  look  with  contempt  upon  people  who  profess  strange 
beliefs.  I  understand  that  your  community  is  largely  com- 
posed of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race;  and  I  know  that  you  cannot 
find  a  place  on  the  face  of  the  earth  where  an  enduring  com- 
munity of  this  kind  has  been  built  up  for  the  purposes  of  lust. 
Your  enemies  say  that  this  is  your  motive,  but  I  am  convinced 
to  the  contra; y.  The  Anglo-Saxons  never  descend  to  that. 
When  they  unite  in  great  movements  they  have  a  grand  object 
in  view." 

A  few  days  later  when  we  were  crossing  the  line  he  came 
from  the  cabin  with  a  newspaper  in  his  hand,  sat  down  along- 
side of  me,  and  said: 

"Mr.  Shreeve,  I  understand  from  your  jubilee  report  that 
you  have  about  50,000  children  enrolled  in  your  Sabbath  School 
Union?11 


FINDING  COMFORT.  81 

I  answered,  "Yes  sir — I  believe  that  is  about  the  number." 
He  said,  then,  "Do  you  know  if  these  children  are  trained 
aright  that  you  have  growing  up  in  your  mountain  community 
a  power  which  the  world  has  not  seen  since  Adam  stepped  out 
of  the  Garden  of  Eden?  I  assure  you  that  it  is  so.  These 
children  have  not  the  tradition  of  ages  to  combat,  but  their 
minds  are  unhampered  and  pure,  and  you  can  mould  them  to 
the  fulfillment  of  a  great  purpose.  I  repeat  it,  you  have 
growing  up  with  these  children  a  power  which  the  world  has 
not  seen  since  father  Adam  stepped  out  of  the  Garden  of 
Eden." 

Mr.  Campbell  stopped  a  brief  time  in  San  Francisco;  and 
had  intended  to  make  a  lengthy  stay  in  order  to  be  in  Salt 
Lake  on  the  occasion  of  the  grand  celebration  to  be  given  there 
on  Pioneer's  Day.  He  succeeded  in  reaching  our  beloved  city  in 
time,  and  he  was  an  admiring  witness  of  the  exercises  in 
which  thousands  of  the  young  Saints  participated.  Mr. 
Campbell  watched  with  sparkling  eyes,  and  he  drew  a  long 
breath  as  he  said  to  a  companion:  "My  friend,  the  half  of 
this  people's  greatness  has  not  been  told." 


I  reached  my  home  in  July,  of  the  year  1880.  Only 
returning  Elders  can  understand  my  joy.  By  the  favor  of  God 
I  had  been  enabled  to  perform  my  duty;  and  every  blessing 
pronounced  upon  my  head  had  been  literally  fulfilled. 

I  would  not  to-day  exchange  the  experience  and  the  Help- 
ful Visions  of  my  mission  for  the  wealth  of  the  world. 


82  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 


TRAITORS. 

Solemn   Warnings  -  A    Traitor  can    Never  be 

Anything  but  Despicable  -  Examples 

of  the  Past. 


By  Ben  E.  Rich. 


E  traitor  is  the  moral  cannibal.  He  feasts  on  the 
mental  worth,  the  social  reputation,  the  political  welfare  and 
the  earthly  life  of  his  trusting  and  betrayed  friend.  He  is  the 
human  serpent,  which  nurses  and  revives  at  the  fire  of  char- 
ity, and  then  darts  his  strengthened  venom  at  the  boscm  of 
his  benefactor.  What  the  grub  is  to  the  heart  of  oak,  the 
gnawing  rat  to  the  ship's  timbers,  the  flaw  to  the  diamond, 
the  poisonous  asp  to  the  sheltering  flower — all  that,  aye,  and 
more,  is  the  traitor  to  mankind.  No  cause  is  so  sacred,  no 
being  is  so  exalted  as  to  be  free  from  the  pollution  of  his 
betraying  touch.  Even  the  celestial  legions  had  their  arch- 
traitor.  Earth,  from  the  day  of  Eden,  has  never  been  free 
from  his  treacherous  kiss.  Since  the  hour  when  man  first 
learned  to  owe  allegiance  to  his  fellow- man,  profane,  rebellious 
betrayers  have  worked  their  insidious  way,  like  devastating 
worms,  through  all  the  pillars  upholding  holy  men  and  noble 
causes. 

The  traitor  is  the  worst  of  all  thieves;  for  he  steals  sacred 
freedom  from  his  trusting  associates.  The  traitor  is  the  worst 
of  all  murderers;  for  he  plunges  the  assassin*  s  knife  into  the 
back  of  his  believing  friend. 


TRAITORS. 


Two  soldiers  are  standing  at  the  picket  post— in  the  dark 
night,  the  silent  forest.  They  are  sworn  and  trusted  comrades. 
The  army  of  the  foe  surges  around  them;  and  they  know  that 
ghastly  death  is  grinning  at  them  from  every  glade  which 
opens  from  the  dark  center  to  the  blacker  depths  beyond,  and 
whispering  to  them  upon  every  wind  that  stirs  the  odorous 
branches.  But  they  fear  no  blow  from  a  foeman's  shaft — that 
noble  death  is  but  the  chance  of  war.  Secure  in  mutual  con- 
fidence, they  tremble  not.  They  speak  of  country,  home;  of 
wives  and  little,  prattling  babes.  And  yet,  while  the  words  of 
soft,  pathetic  love  are  on  the  lips  of  one,  the  other  plunges  a 
traitorous  knife,  hilt- deep,  into  a  friendly,  loyal  heart.  And 
then  the  assassin  sweeps  like  the  shadow  of  a  lost  soul  over 
the  face  of  the  betrayed  sentinel;  he  creeps  across  tender  moss 
and  between  the  trunks  of  mighty  trees— everywhere  leaving 
the  crimson,  accusing  stain — until  he  reaches  a  distant  camp- 
fire;  and  at  the  feet  of  the  waiting  enemy  he  lays  down  his 
reeking  knife  and  takes  his  purse  of  gold.  This  is  the  traitor. 
And  when  the  moon  comes  up,  stealing  amidst  the  rustling 
leaves,  he  looks  upon  the  cold,  white  face  of  a  betrayed  friend, 
whose  last  word  was  of  confident  love  told  to  the  ear  of  a 
hired  assassin. 

Two  men  are  joined  in  a  patriotic  cause.  To  the  mainten- 
ance of  the  principle  of  just  freedom  they  pledge  their  lives, 
their  fortunes  and  their  sacred  honor.  History  will  call  the 
men  who  are  true  to  this  cause  loyal  and  brave.  The  tyrant 
whom  they  seek  to  overthrow  calls  them  conspirators.  They 
meet  in  a  darkened  room,  with  curtains  closely  drawn.  Soft 
mats  hush  the  sound  of  the  firm  footfall.  Stern  voices,  more 
used  to  the  vast  circumference  of  the  field  or  the  resonant 
heights  of  the  forum,  are  stilled  to  a  woman's  whisper.  These 
two  men  are  meeting  to  sign  and  yield  to  each  other,  for  dis- 
tant comrades,  the  pledge  of  mutual  fidelity.  The  one  who  is 
master  of  the  house  places  his  guest  at  a  table  and  spreads 
before  him  for  final  execution  the  plans  of  insurrection,  the 
lists  of  friends  and  confederates,  the  oaths  of  reciprocal  fealty. 
As  the  visitor  attaches  his  name  to  the  solemn  instruments,  he 
sighs  and  says: 


84  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

"Oh,  trusted  friend!  I  yield  to  this 'cause  not  only  my  life, 
my  fortune  and  my  sacred  honor;  but  I  pledge  to  it  and  to  the 
integrity  of  you  and  our  allies  my  sweet  wife  and  my  only  son 
— both  at  once  my  present  pride  and  future  joy!  " 

While  the  words  are  uttered,  the  bold  and  noble  hand  traces 
its  way  in  affirmatory  signature  across  parchment  and  paper. 
Scarcely  has  the  thrilling  whisper  of  the  patriot  ceased  to  agi- 
tate the  damask  curtains,  when  the  hangings  are  parted  by  the 
vulture  hand  of  the  other  conspirator;  and  between  their  open 
folds  steal  the  soldiers  of  the  tyrant.  These  warlike  hands 
grasp  the  shoulders  of  the  patriot;  and  as  they  drag  him  forth 
to  dungeon  and  to  death,  the  betraying  host  cries: 

4 'Bind  him  fast,  lest  he  should  escape  and  sky  me!'' 

The  coward,  muffled  in  a  cloak,  soon  steals  from  the  sombre 
chamber  to  the  palace  of  the  minister  and  lays  before  that 
waiting  officer  his  trophies  of  broken  p'ans  and  fatal  lists.  He 
gets  in  return  his  patent  of  rank,  his  gift  of  confiscated  estates, 
his  pledge  of  his  personal  security.  This  is  the  traitor.  And 
when  the  sun  of  the  third  day  shall  rise,  its  first  pitying  beams 
will  fall  upon  the  gory  block,  the  black  executioner,  the  basket 
with  its  dread  burden,  and  the  headless  trunk  of  the  patriot 
whose  trust  and  hope  had  been  in  a  false  friend. 


Two  men  are  joined  with  others  in  proclaiming  an  unpopu- 
lar but  holy  doctrine.  Hand  in  hand  they  go  through  the 
earth  testifying  to  men,  to  cities,  to  nations,  the  mighty  truths. 
They  say  to  all  lands  and  to  all  peoples: 

"We  know  that  this  is  the  living,  burning  truth.  God  has 
spoken  from  the  heavens,  and  we  are  His  witnesses." 

To  each  other— in  all  the  sacred  friendliness  of  long  associa- 
tion, of  missionary  labor,  and  of  a  communion  together  when 
every  human  law  and  hand  seemed  against  them— they  speak  in 
faithful  hope  of  the  glorious  cause  which  they  espouse,  and  of 
the  divine  necessity  which  they  are  under  to  be  faithful  to  God 
and  their  brethren.  Their  views  are  not  in  accord  with  public 
sentiment  and  suddenly  they  are  dragged  before  a  cruel  tri- 
bunal and  charged  that  they  are  teaching  crime.  But  the  law 
of  the  land  says:  "No  man  shall  be  punished  because  of  his 


TRAITORS.  85 


sincere  religious  views  or  practices."  And  the  judge  before 
whom  they  are  arraigned  calls  to  them: 

"Continue  to  declare  that  ye  are  doing  the  will  of  God,  and 
in  prison  ye  shall  rest.  But  acknowledge  that  ye  are  proclaim- 
ing a  man-made  system,  and  pledge  that  ye  will  cease,  and  ye 
shall  go  free." 

And  one  of  them  who  are  arraigned  says: 

"Oh,  judge!  I  acknowledge  thy  supremacy.  I  will  obey  thy 
law.  I  will  not  advise  others  to  break  it.  So  long  as  thou  and 
thy  masters  shall  command,  I  will  worship  the  graven  image." 

And  then  he  takes  his  seal  of  amnesty,  bought  at  the  price 
of  a  people's  freedom,  and  creeps  from  the  presence  of  the 
court  a  man — nay,  a  creature — inviolable  of  his  fellows,  but 
haunted  ever  by  the  shadow  of  Judas.  This  is  the  traitor. 

And  when  the  other  prisoner  is  arraigned  he  cries: 

"This  is  my  religion!  God  gave  it  to  me!  Ye  may  take  my 
earthly  life,  but  ye  cannot  sap  my  manhood  nor  strang'e  my 
conscience." 

Then  the  judge,  who  has  a  mission  to  learn  if  these  people 
are  sincere,  answers  to  the  prisoner  and  for  the  far-off  masters 
of  the  court: 

"Thou  canst  not  come  within  the  law;  because  thou  canst 
not  claim  sincerity.  Thy  brother  and  fellow-laborer  hath  just 
now  recanted,  and  this  is  proof  that  thou  art  not  sincere,  but 
wickedly  obstinate.  If  thy  brother  had  with  thee  remained  firm 
and  immovable  I  might  have  believed  in  thy  cause.  But  what 
man  hath  done  man  can  do  again.  Therefore,  recant  or  rest 
thou  within  the  cold  and  lonely  walls." 

And  the  sun  and  moon  of  another  month,  stealing  through 
iron-bound  chinks  of  rock,  see  the  patriot  pacing  a  dismal 
cell. 

The  traitor  calls  himself  a  reformer.  He  is  merely  a  cow- 
ard. And  of  all  the  wretches  whose  presence  taints  the  air 
of  earth  and  heaven,  the  coward  is  the  worst.  Great  Caesar 
said: 

"The  coward's  fears  make  him  die  many  times  before  his 
death. 

"The  valiant  never  taste  of  death  but  once. 


HELPFUL  VISIONS. 


"Of  all  the  wonders  that  I  yet  have  heard,  it  seems  to  me 
most  strange  that  men  should  fear  seeing  that  death,  a  neces- 
sary end,  will  come  when  it  will  come." 

The  traitor  professes  to  believe  that  his  act  of  betrayal  will 
disrupt  the  cause  which  he  deserts.  This  is  the  coward  rebel's 
wish.  How  abjectly  and  miserably  he  fails!  Sometimes  the 
traitor  lops  from  the  sturdy  trunk  a  straggling  branch;  but 
does  the  tree  thrive  less  for  that?  Nay.  The  other  twigs  only 
bear  blossoms  the  more  redolent  and  fruit  the  more  rosy.  Some- 
times the  traitor  tears  away  a  cracked,  a  seamed,  a  shaling 
stone  from  the  half-completed  structure.  What  if  a  measure 
of  disaster  follow?  Cannot  the  builder  renew?  And  does  he 
not  choose  better  rock  to  bear  the  weight  of  his  fair  edifice? 
Sometimes  the  traitor  only  hastens  the  success  which  he  seeks 
to  avert;  sometimes  he  delays  the  triumph  against  which  he 
rebels.  But  always  ultimately  the  car  of  destiny  moves  to  its 
appointed  end.  And  the  cowardly  betrayer  who  thought  to 
stoj)  its  career  by  holding  back  with  his  puny  arms  is  dragged 
by  it  to  his  miserable  end,  while  his  associates— dead  or  alive 
go  with  it  to  the  day  of  triumph. 


THERE  was  once  a  man  of  mighty  prowess,  endowed  from 
his  first  breath  with  a  wondrous  strength.  When  he  grew  to 
manhood,  brutes,  men  and  even  armies  fell  in  the  dust  at  his 
feet.  It.  had  been  divinely  promised  of  him  that  he  should  be 
a  marvel  of  strength,  and  that  he  should  begin  to  deliver 
Israel  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Philistines,  and  men  and  chains, 
and  bolts  and  gates  could  not  prevail  against  his  manly,  heroic 
lustiness.  But  there  came  a  woman,  with  her  soft,  betraying 
touch.  She  caressed  him  and  begged  for  love  of  her  that  he 
would  reveal  the  secret  of  his  miraculous  strengh.  In  a  fool- 
ish moment  he  yielded;  and  then  were  his  Jove-like  locks 
shorn  from  his  head;  and  he  became  a  blind  lackey,  the  serf 
of  the  Philistines.  Delilah,  the  betrayer,  with  her  traitorous 
kiss  upon  Samson's  lips,  and  her  traitorous  whisper  through 
the  tent  to  his  waiting  enemy,  could  do  what  no  thousand  of 
open  foes  could  accomplish.  She  made  the  proud,  superb, 
perfect  lion  a  weak,  whining  whelp. 


TRAITORS.  87 


A  MIGHTY  king  had  a  well-beloved  son  to  whom  he  had 
given  and  forgiven  more  than  is  usually  bestowed  upon  one  of 
human  kind.  And  yet  the  son  traitorously  plotted  the  down- 
fall and  even  the  murder  of  his  royal  sire,  and  the  usurpation 
of  the  throne.  He  might  have  succeeded  in  his  cruel,  parri- 
cidal treason,  but  that  he  himself  was  in  turn  betrayed  and 
finally  slain.  And  when  the  grand,  great-hearted,  poetic  mon- 
arch learned  that  Absalom,  the  sweet,  the  beautiful,  the  dearly- 
beloved,  was  dead,  he  wept  before  all  Israel,  and  as  he  went  his 
sorrowful  way  thus  he  said: 

"0,  my  son  Absalom!  My  son,  my  son  Absalom!  Would 
God  I  had  died  for  thee,  0,  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son!  " 

If  that  arrow-pierced  heart  of  the  betraying  and  betrayed 
Absalom  could  have  quickened  but  for  one  moment,  how  much 
sharper  than  the  physical  death- thrust  would  it  have  felt  King 
David's  cry  of  infinite  forgiveness!  But  the  past  was  irrevoc- 
able. Israel's  lordly  king,  the  beloved  of  God,  was  moaning 
in  anguish  at  the  gate  of  the  city;  and  the  beautiful  Absalom, 
with  the  fatal  hair,  the  beloved  of  his  ro}Tal  sire,  was  lying 
dead  in  the  pit  in  the  deserted  wood,  with  ignoble  stone  crush- 
ing his  lifeless  body. 

War,  murder,  exile  were  powerless  to  bring  such  desolation 
to  these  royal  hearts;  but  when  Absalom,  the  forgiven  mur- 
derer, became  a  betrayer  infinite  woe  fell  around  the  name  of 
the  dead  prince  and  the  bowed  head  of  the  living  king.  But 
though  the  great  tenderness  of  the  psalmist  could  compass 
remission  for  the  crime  of  Absalom,  the  nation  and  history 
must  be  more  harsh.  When  a  subject,  for  self-agrandizement, 
rises  against  a  king,  he  is  a  traitor;  but  he  is  a  thrice-damned 
traitor  when  that  monarch  against  whom  he  rebels  is  his  own 
father. 


WOMEN  are  often  false  to  their  lovers;  subjects  to  their  sov- 
ereigns, and  even  sons  to  their  sires.  Divinity  itself  is  no 
invulnerable  shield  against  betrayal.  A  merciful  Christ  came 
to  save  mankind  from  torment  and  lift  them  into  eternal  radi- 
ance. He  chose  and  trusted  His  apostles.  He  ministered  to 
them  and  with  them.  They  each  could  give  a  testimony  that 


88  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

their  Master  was  the  anointed  Savior,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God.  Persecution  came  upon  Him  like  the  storm  cloud  low- 
ers upon  the  snowy  mountain  and  enfolded  Him  in  a  gloomy 
embrace.  The  prospect  of  suffering  with  this  God-like  Mas- 
ter, whom  he  had  served  as  purse-bearer  when  the  danger  was 
not  great,  made  Judas  weak  unto  betrayal.  Cowardice  and 
avarice  worked  together  in  the  traitor  heart.  He  kissed  and 
cried: 

"Master,  master!  Hail,  master!" 

Then  he  took  his  thirty  pieces  of  silver;  and  with  them  he 
accepted  a  hatred  of  all  mankind. 

The  compassionate  Redeemer  of  the  world  hung  upon  the 
cruel  cross  with  drops  of  agony  upon  His  radiant  brow,  while 
his  lips  were  wreathed  in  a  pained  but  forgiving  smile.  And 
Judas,  the  traitor,  already  tasting  the  infernal  torments,  called 
in  vain  to  stay  the  progress  of  his  dread  act.  The  Wack-hearted 
deed  was  done.  The  mocking  trial  had  passed,  sentence  had 
been  pronounced  and  executed;  and  then  the  betrayer  groaned 
and  flung  the  money  from  him  as  a  sinful,  burning  thing  which 
had  no  worth.  Upon  the  bloody  field  he  cast  himself  and  his 
bowels  gushed  forth  in  useless  contrition.  He  died  upon  the 
spot  which  his  blood-money  purchased  for  the  burial  of  stran- 
gers and  criminals  in  the  land. 


A  BRILLIANT  general  fell  into  disgrace  with  his  military 
superiors  and  with  the  civil  government  of  his  country.  He 
was  impetuous  and  impatient  of  restraint.  He  was  proud 
even  to  arrogance;  he  was  extravagant  even  to  the  furthest 
limit  of  honesty.  Other  men  had  been  advanced  to  higher 
posts — he  felt  himself  degraded.  His  disbursements  upon  one 
of  his  heroic  expeditions  were  still  unsettled — he  felt  himself 
defrauded.  A  tyrant  foe  invested  his  country  and  sought  to 
subjugate  her  people.  He  listened  to  the  voice  of  ignoble 
avarice,  of  proud  passion,  of  offended  arrogance.  With  delib- 
erate humiliation  he  sought  a  place  of  vast  trust  among  the 
defenders  of  his  country.  He  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  a  great  river  fortress — the  key  to  the  interior,  the  storage 
house  of  munitions  dearly  bought,  highly  prized  and  abso- 


TRAITORS.  89 


lutely  necessary  for  the  repulse  of  the  invaders.  He  sold  his 
rank,  his  honor  and  his  interest  in  his  native  land.  Just  at 
the  hour  when  his  bargain  was  to  be  decided,  his  old  friend 
and  admirer,  the  noble  commander-in-chief,  said  to  him: 

''My  dear  Arnold,  lam  now  forming  my  army  for  active 
operations  in  the  field.  I  want  a  fighting  general.  Come,  1 
offer  you  the  command  of  the  left  wing,  at  once  the  post  of 
danger  and  of  honor." 

The  traitor's  face  flushed  with  shame.  He  pleaded  an  old 
wound  as  reason  why  he  should  not  go  into  the  battle-field. 
Then  he  went  to  meet  Andre  and  give  the  last  assurance  to  his 
British  masters  that  he  was  theirs,  body  and  soul.  By  the 
interposition  of  America's  sublime  destiny  his  plot  was  dis- 
covered and  foiled. 

Arnold,  the  traitor,  crept  away  to  escape  a  betrayer's  death. 
He  received  his  British  uniform,  his  British  gold,  his  British 
sword.  He  even  came  back  with  his  mercenary  horde  to  rav- 
age, burn,  destroy  the  little  town  in  Connecticut  where  first  he 
saw  the  light. 

Years  later,  the  great  Frenchman,  Talleyrand,  met  a  distin- 
guished-looking man  at  an  English  country  inn.  The  two 
gentlemen  were  total  strangers  to  each  other;  but  they  soon 
engaged  in  conversation  upon  the  great  question  of  Democracy. 
When  they  were  about  to  part,  Talleyrand  said  to  his  companion: 

"From  your  knowledge  of  all  that  relates  to  the  United 
States,  I  am  sure  that  you  must  be  an  American;  my  name  is 
Talleyrand,  and  I  am  about  to  visit  that  country;  perhaps  you 
will  be  kind  enough  to  give  me  letters  of  introduction  to  some 
of  your  friends  there. ' '  i1^i*ei?o('«  *  .ifar  •.<: 

When  the  illustrious  diplomat  had  finished  his  request,  the 
other  gentleman  bowed  low;  and  when  he  looked  up  his  face, 
even  to  his  lips,  was  gray  as  a-hes.  In  a  voice  which  sounded 
weird  and  cheerless  as  the  moan  of  a  November  wind  across  a 
deserted  marsh,  he  answered: 

"Yes,  I  am  an  American.  I  was  born  in  America.  I  have 
spent  nearly  all  my  life  there.  But  I  am  probably  the  only 
American  living  who  can  say,  'I  have  not  one  friend  in  my 
native  land. '  No,  not  one.  Sir,  I  am  Benedict  Arnold. ' ' 


90  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

Talleyrand  turned  away  from  Arnold  with  a  shudder,  while 
the  miserable  traitor  crept  silently  from  the  room. 

When  the  unhappy  wretch  was  dying  in  the  midst  of  con- 
tempt and  poverty  he  grew  delirious.  At  the  last  moment  of 
his  ruined  life  he  called  to  the  devoted  wife  who  had  been  the 
sharer  of  all  his  woe: 

"Bring  to  me,  I  beg  you,  the  epaulettes  and  sword  knots 
which  Washington  gave  me.  Let  me  die  in  my  old  American 
uniform,  the  uniform  in  which  I  fought  my  battles.  May  my 
God  forgive  me  for  ever  having  worn  any  other!  " 


THE  greatest  army  which  the  world  ever  saw  was  gathered 
at  Thermopylae  more  than  two  thousand  years  ago. 

This  was  the  Persian  host  assembled  to  do  battle  to  the  lit- 
tle band  of  Spartans.  So  intrepidly  did  the  Greeks  defend 
that  sacred  defile  which  gave  entrance  to  their  beloved  land 
that  Xerxes  became  out  of  a'l  hope  of  forcing  his  way  through 
the  Spartan  ranks.  This  was  the  moment  for  the  traitor. 
Before  the  proud  Xerxes  could  withdraw  his  myriads,  the 
betrayer  came — a  Greek,  a  native  of  the  sublime  country. 
With  servile  words  he  flung  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  gor- 
geous Persian.  He  offered  to  lead  the  invaders  to  an  eminence 
overlooking  the  heroic  defenders  of  Greece.  His  coward  wish 
was  granted;  and  when  the  next  morning  dawned  Leonidas 
and  his  followers  saw  the  spears  and  helmets  of  their  foes 
flashing  at  them  from  the  heights. 

The  rest  is  the  most  sublime  tragedy  of  profane  history. 

And  the  traitor  who  betrayed  the  noblest  souls  of  Greece  to 
their  death  received  his  gold  and  precious  stones.  He  might 
have  died  in  the  honest  obscurity  in  which  he  was  born  and 
reared,  but  for  his  coward  act. 

Ah!  such  notoiiety  is  purchased  at  too  high  a  price.  It 
would  be  better  for  a  man  to  stand  modestly  and  firmly  before 
his  country's  foe;  to  fall  unrecognized  and  without  praise;  to 
fill  a  grave  over  which  the  words  shall  stand  cut  into  inefface- 
able granite,  "An  unknown  soldier,  who  died  in  defense  of  his 
country.7'  Ah,  yes!  far  better  thus  to  fall  and  fill  an  unknown 
grave — to  be  unremembered  forevermore  of  men — than  to  win 


TRAITORS.  91 


a  name  of  infamy,  to  fill  the  pages  of  history  and  be  recollected 
of  all  human-kind  while  men  shall  hate  a  traitor. 


A  PROPHET  of  Almighty  God  came  in  the  full  sunlight  of 
this  great  nineteenth  century  to  lead  men  back  to  the  glory  of  t  heir 
Creator.  His  open  enemies  sought  his  life;  but  for  years  their 
murderous  effort  was  in  vain.  He  continued  his  sacred  min- 
istry upon  the  earth,  with  a  power  which  was  divine,  until  the 
hour  for  the  traitorous  kiss.  When  Bennett  sinned  and  then 
through  hate  betrayed,  the  shadows  of  martyrdom  began  clos- 
ing around  our  grand  Prophet  and  Patriarch.  When  the  Laws 
and  the  Higbees,  the  Fosters  and  the  Cowles,  became  traitors 
and  gave  their  efforts  to  aid  the  assassin  persecutors  of  their 
sworn  brother  and  leader;  then,  indeed,  was  the  fate  of  Jos- 
eph and  Hyrum  sealed. 

A  governor  of  a  sovereign  State  betrayed  them  to  a  cruel 
death;  and  Carthage  repeated  the  divine  tragedy  of  Calvary. 
The  Prophet  and  Patriarch  have  passed  to  their  glorious 
immortality;  their  names  shall  fill  a  thousand  hymns  of  praise 
on  earth  and  welcome  in  the  heavens.  But  the  traitors — mis- 
erable reptiles — will  be  scorned  through  countless  ages. 

It  is  always  the  same — prince  or  peasant,  apostle  or  soldier 
— if  a  man  be  a  traitor  he  is  remembered  for  that  and  nothing 
more.  If  his  station  be  lowly,  he  will  seek  in  vain  to  hide  his 
shame  in  his  native  obscurity;  for  it  will  burst  forth  in  lurid, 
bloody  letters  to  the  sight  of  all  the  ages  that  shall  come.  If 
his  station  be  exalted  he  may  try  and  try  again,  but  vainly,  to 
cover  his  treason  with  the  glory  of  his  rank  or  wealth;  for  it 
will  blacken  all  his  brilliance  and  leave  his  place  a  plague  spot; 
his  fame,  a  grinning  skeleton  of  dead  despair;  his  career,  an 
undying  infamy. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  varied  circumstances  and  results 
attending  the  wretched  lives  of  traitors,  there  is  this  lesson 
which  all  humanity  may  draw:  Successful  or  unsuccessful  in 
their  treason,  betrayers  are  always  execrated;  successful  or 
unsuccessful  in  their  treason,  they  always  live  long  enough  to 
repent;  successful  or  unsuccessful  in  their  treason,  they  may 
never  in  this  life  know  a  waking  moment  when  their  own  coward 


92  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

fears  do  not  make  them  doubt  the  fidelity  of  every  soul  about  them ; 
successful  or  unsuccessful  in  their  earthly  treason,  when  they 
shall  stand  in  that  other  world  face  to  face  with  their  betrayed 
friends,  they  will  know  that  the  blackest  of  all  offenders  are 
cowardly,  assassin  traitors. 

At  that  great  day  Judas  Iscariot  will  not  be  the  only  traitor 
to  cry: 

"It  had  been  good  for  me  that  1  had  not  been  born!  " 

Every  crisis  at  every  period  and  with  every  nation  exposes 
traitors  just  as  it  exalts  to  view  patriots. 

This  Church  has  seen  at  every  critical  point  of  its  career, 
the  betrayer  as  well  as  the  savior  springing  to  the  front.  The 
present  emergency  with  the  people  of  Utah  is  no  exception  to 
this  rule. 

Just  as  there  are  men  sacrificing  comfort  and  earthly  pros- 
peiity  to  the  cause,  and  men  who  are  willing  to  give  life  itself 
to  defend  God's  work  from  the  attacks  of  ils  enemies;  so 
there  are  people  who  will  sell  their  own  sacred  heritage  and 
the  freedom  of  the  community,  for  wealth,  popularity  or  per- 
sonal safety. 

And  more  than  this— the  people  are  surrounded  by  men 
placed  here  to  represent  the  government  who  are  false  to  every 
trust,  and  whose  opposition  can  be  estimated  in  dollars  or 
coerced  by  bigotry. 

We  have  some  traitors  to  ourselves  within  our  homes;  we 
have  more  traitors  to  truth  and  justice  outside  our  walls. 

Ij3ss  than  two  thousand  years  ago  the  great  Roman  republic 
was  at  the  zenith  of  its  power.  Some  of  the  free  and  enter- 
prising citizens  of  that  mighty  land  emigrated  into  the  cold, 
mountainous  regions  of  the  north  and  established  a  colony 
which  they  called  Beville.  They  set  up  the  Roman  standard, 
and  claimed  the  territory  in  the  name  of  their  country. 

After  overcoming  untold  difficulties,  they  sent  messengers 
to  Rome  asking  for  recognition;  and  saying  that,  inasmuch  as 
they  had  given  a  grand,  rich  domain  to  their  beloved  mother 
land,  they  should  be  placed  upon  an  equal  footing  with  their 
free-born  fellow -citizens.  But  the  politicians  at  Rome  would 


TRAITORS. 


not  listen  to  this  request;  and  Beville  was  kept  in  the  vassalage 
of  a  conquered  province. 

All  the  governors,  judges  and  many  of  the  local  officers  were 
sent  from  some  other  part  of  the  republic;  and  they  treated 
the  people  of  Beville  with  the  most  dreadful  severity,  while 
they  dispatched  to  Rome  the  most  vicious  and  cruelly  false 
reports  concerning  the  honest  citizens  of  the  province  or  col- 
ony unto  which  they  had  been  sent  to  govern  and  to  judge. 
Many  of  them  were  most  contemptible  knaves  and  traitors. 
They  once  had  a  governor  who  traitorously  violated  his  oath 
to  give  a  certificate  of  election  to  a  man  who  had  one  vote  in  a 
dozen,  and  whose  only  claim  to  consideration  was  his  wealth 
and  willingness  to  make  loans  on  desperate  political  titles;  a 
governor  who  deprived  a  good  public  unsectarian  university  of 
its  needed  support  and  then  declared  that  the  people  of  Beville 
opposed  education;  a  governor  who  broke  his  plighted  word 
in  order  that  he  might  leave  upon  the  fair  land  the  espionage 
of  an  unjust  and  unaccountable  commission;  a  governor  who 
basely  betrayed  the  consul  that  maintained  him  in  office  by 
saying  with  egotism  which  is  bleached  white  with  concentrated 
lye:  "I  wrote  all  of  such  and  such  portions  of  the  consul's 
message;"  a  governor  who  was  called  a  thief  upon  the  floor  of 
the  Senate;  a  governor  who  had  a  list  of  wildcat,  highway- 
robbery  mining  stocks  which  bore  his  name  and  title— all  for 
sale  under  the  glare  and  glamor  of  his  civil  position;  a  gov- 
ernor whose  brains  were  rattling  chestnuts,  whose  heart  was 
infinitesimal,  bearing'  proof  that  a  single  atom  'can  exist, 
and  whose  beauty— his  only  virtue— was  that  of  the  painted 
harlot  and  the  whitened  sepulchre. 

Then  they  had  one  judge,  a  man  who  should  now  be  where 
Deacon  Bitters  was  supposed  to  be  years  ago— measuring  sul- 
phur to  make  orthodox  hell  fire;  a  judge  whose  class-meeting 
morality  was  so  dreadfully  shocked  by  an  advocate's  grand 
conduct  that  the  advocate  was  disbarred  from  practice  because 
he  refused  to  cast  off  and  make  a  wanderer  of  the  wife  who 
had  loved  and  honored  him,  and  who  had  borne  him  sweet, 
confiding  children;  a  judge  who  could  then  send  lechers  forth 
from  his  court  crowned  with  bay  and  laurel  and  bearing  their 


94  HELPFUL  VISIONS. 

edicts  of  license  in  their  hands;  a  judge  who  practically  said 
to  the  libertine,  uGo  your  way  rejoicing.  Prey  upon  virtue 
without  stint.  Bring  ruin  into  your  own  home,  and  then 
spread  disease  and  deadly  desolation  wherever  else  you  can 
gain  an  entrance.  You  are  free  to  come  and  go.  My  thun- 
derbolts of  justice,  forged  at  the  fire  of  fanaticism  and  fanned 
by  the  wind  of  protection  for  my  own  son,  all  these  shafts  are 
for  cur  over-scrupulous  opponents,  the  people  of  Beville;"  a 
judge  whose  brain  was  honeycombed  with  the  devious  turn- 
ings of  treacherous  thoughts,  whose  heart  was  an  icicle,  and 
whose  alleged  moral  desire — his  only  virtue — was  the  great 
enfolding  cloak  which  could  cover  every  prostitute  and  para- 
mour in  the  land. 


THEY  had  another  judge:  a  creature  whose  miserable  phys- 
ical appearance  was  but  the  photograph  of  the  horrid,  ugly 
soul  within;  a  judge  who  was  willing  to  slay  women  and  chil- 
dren, and  to  tread  over  their  corpses  to  gain  his  nomination;  a 
judge  who  became  known  within  one  brief  year  as  an  infamous 
wretch,  who  practiced  cruelty  with  most  Satanic  ingenuity;  a 
judge  whose  brain  was  a  tape- worm  lie,  with  five  hundred 
self-sustaining  and  specie- propagating  joints.  Whose  heart 
was  a  pain  in  his  stomach  caused  by  a  vacuum,  and  whose 
ability  to  sermonize,  his  only  virtue,  was  an  adulterous  union 
of  vanity  and  falsehood. 


THESE  men  were  all  traitors — traitors  to  God,  to  their  country 
and  to  the  parents  who  vainly  tried  to  endow  them  with  man- 
hood. 

But  to-day  we  in  Utah  have  a  few  traitors  a  little  nearer 
home.  There  are  men  who  say: 

"I  once  loved  the  cause  well  enough  to  die  for  it;  but  now  I 
hate  the  work  and  the  people,  because  a  leading  man  once  did 
me  an  injury.  I  will  become  an  informer." 

There  are  still  others — the  careless  traitors — the  men  and 
women  who  cover  their  thoughtless  treason  with  a  joke,  and 
clothe  unmeant  betrayal  with  a  smile.  These  are  the  people 
who  learn  the  sacred  secrets  of  a  friend,  a  brother,  and  then 


TRAITORS.  95 


tattle  the  forbidden  words  here,  there  and  everywhere.  And 
when  the  careless  gossip  reaches  the  ears  of  our  persecutors — 
as  it  does  all  too  often — it  becomes,  not  friendly  joking,  but  a 
stern,  almost  tragic  accusation.  And  when  the  victim  is 
brought  to  sad  disaster,  the  very  people  who  have  helped  the 
wicked  betrayal  are  among  the  first  to  say: 

"I  am  not  surprised  that  he  should  come  to  grief;  he  is  so 
careless.  The  great  wonder  is  that  it  did  not  happen  before, 
because  everybody  has  been  talking  about  his  affairs." 
:  Ah!  to-day  we  see  Delilah  who  betrays  her  husband;  and 
Absalom,  who  is  traitorous  to  his  father;  and  Judas,  who 
is  traitorous  to  his  father;  and  Judas,  who  would  betray  his 
master  for  gold  or  popular  approval;  the  Arnold  who  says,  "It 
is  a  losing  cause,  and  I  may  as  well  desert  while  there  is  yet 
time." 

Yes,  there  are  cowards  and  traitors  in  the  land.  Well,  let 
there  be,  then,  since  such  are  necessary  to  make  the  sum  of 
human  existence — let  them  live  as  hyenas  do. 

Grand  Harry  the  V.,  of  England — superb,  glorious  Harry 
—stood  once  upon  the  shore  of  France  with  his  little  band  of 
soldiers  to  face  the  countless  legions  of  his  hereditary  foe.  He 
heard  a  murmur  as  of  fear;  and  turning  to  his  nobles  he  looked 
at  them  from  flashing. e3Tes  and  spoke  these  very  significant 
words: 

"He  which  hath  no  stomach  to  this  fight, 
Let  him  depart,  his  passport  shall  be  made, 
And  crowns  for  convoy  put  into  his  purse: 
We  would  not  die  in  that  man's  company, 
That  fears  his  fellowship  to  die  with  us. 
I  speak  not  this  as  doubting  any  here! 
For,  did  I  but  suspect  a  fearful  man, 
He  should  have  leave  to  go  away  betimes; 
Lest,  in  our  need,  he  might  infect  another, 
And  make  him  of  like  spirit  to  himself. 
If  any  such  be  here,  as  God  forbid  ! 
Let  him  depart,  before  we  need  his  help." 


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